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In optics, the refractive index (or refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that gives the indication of the light bending ability of that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refracted, when entering a material. This is described by Snell's law of refraction, n1 sin θ1 = n2 ...
Snell's law. Refraction of light at the interface between two media of different refractive indices, with n 2 > n 1. Since the velocity is lower in the second medium (v 2 < v 1), the angle of refraction θ 2 is less than the angle of incidence θ 1; that is, the ray in the higher-index medium is closer to the normal.
List of refractive indices. Refraction at interface. Many materials have a well-characterized refractive index, but these indices often depend strongly upon the frequency of light, causing optical dispersion. Standard refractive index measurements are taken at the "yellow doublet" sodium D line, with a wavelength (λ) of 589 nanometers.
It deviates in the ultraviolet and infrared regions. In optics, Cauchy's transmission equation is an empirical relationship between the refractive index and wavelength of light for a particular transparent material. It is named for the mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy, who originally defined it in 1830 in his article "The refraction and ...
Fresnel equations. Partial transmission and reflection of a pulse travelling from a low to a high refractive index medium. At near-grazing incidence, media interfaces appear mirror-like especially due to reflection of the s polarization, despite being poor reflectors at normal incidence. Polarized sunglasses block the s polarization, greatly ...
The Sellmeier equation is an empirical relationship between refractive index and wavelength for a particular transparent medium. The equation is used to determine the dispersion of light in the medium. It was first proposed in 1872 by Wolfgang Sellmeier and was a development of the work of Augustin Cauchy on Cauchy's equation for modelling ...
Refraction. A ray of light being refracted in a plastic block. In physics, refraction is the redirection of a wave as it passes from one medium to another. The redirection can be caused by the wave's change in speed or by a change in the medium. [1] Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon, but other waves such as sound ...
The refractive index of water at 20 °C for visible light is 1.33. [1] The refractive index of normal ice is 1.31 (from List of refractive indices). In general, an index of refraction is a complex number with real and imaginary parts, where the latter indicates the strength of absorption loss at a particular wavelength.