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Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon, but other waves such as sound waves and water waves also experience refraction. How much a wave is refracted is determined by the change in wave speed and the initial direction of wave propagation relative to the direction of change in speed.
Fermat's principle is most familiar, however, in the case of visible light: it is the link between geometrical optics, which describes certain optical phenomena in terms of rays, and the wave theory of light, which explains the same phenomena on the hypothesis that light consists of waves.
Snell's law (also known as the Snell–Descartes law, the ibn-Sahl law, [1] and the law of refraction) is a formula used to describe the relationship between the angles of incidence and refraction, when referring to light or other waves passing through a boundary between two different isotropic media, such as water, glass, or air.
The phase velocity is the speed at which the crests or the phase of the wave moves, which may be different from the group velocity, the speed at which the pulse of light or the envelope of the wave moves. [1] Historically air at a standardized pressure and temperature has been common as a reference medium.
This phenomenon, known as total internal reflection, occurs at incidence angles for which Snell's law predicts that the sine of the angle of refraction would exceed unity (whereas in fact sin θ ≤ 1 for all real θ). For glass with n = 1.5 surrounded by air, the critical angle is approximately 42°.
Diagram showing displacement of the Sun's image at sunrise and sunset Comparison of inferior and superior mirages due to differing air refractive indices, n. Atmospheric refraction is the deviation of light or other electromagnetic wave from a straight line as it passes through the atmosphere due to the variation in air density as a function of height. [1]
Polarization state of linear polarized light parallel to x axis. Light waves that exhibit oscillation in a single plane are referred to as plane-polarized light waves. In such waves, the electric field vector (E) oscillates exclusively within a single plane that is perpendicular to the direction of wave propagation.
The beam may display Brillouin scattering as a result of those vibrations, usually in the direction opposite the incoming beam, a phenomenon known as stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS). For liquids and gases, the frequency shifts typically created are of the order of 1–10 GHz resulting in wavelength shifts of ~1–10 pm in the visible light.