Calculate the critical angle of light travelling from water to air. The refractive index of water is 1.34
To calculate the critical angle of light traveling from water to air, you can use Snell's law. Snell's law relates the angles of incidence and refraction to the refractive indices of the two mediums involved.
The formula for Snell's law is:
n₁ * sin(θ₁) = n₂ * sin(θ₂)
Where:
- n₁ is the refractive index of the first medium (water in this case)
- θ₁ is the angle of incidence
- n₂ is the refractive index of the second medium (air in this case)
- θ₂ is the angle of refraction
In this case, we want to find the critical angle, which occurs when the angle of refraction is 90 degrees (sin(θ₂) = 1). So we can rewrite Snell's law as:
n₁ * sin(θ₁) = n₂ * 1
n₁ * sin(θ₁) = n₂
Rearranging the equation to solve for the angle of incidence:
θ₁ = arcsin(n₂ / n₁)
Substituting the values:
θ₁ = arcsin(1 / 1.34)
Using a calculator, you would find that θ₁ is approximately 48.8 degrees.
Therefore, the critical angle of light traveling from water to air is approximately 48.8 degrees.