Diffraction, Reflection & Refraction
All waves, whether transverse or longitudinal, can
be reflected, refracted and diffracted
Diffraction
Diffraction is the spreading of waves when they pass through an opening (gap), or
around an edge
Diffraction can also occur when waves pass an edge
The extent of diffraction depends on the width of the gap compared with the
wavelength of the waves
o Diffraction is the most prominent when the width of the slit is approximately
equal to the wavelength
Reflection:
Reflection occurs when a wave hits a boundary between two media and does not
pass through, but instead stays in the original medium
The law of reflection states:
The angle of incidence = The angle of reflection
Reflection in a Plane Mirror
Light from the object hits the mirror, reflecting from it (i=r)
To an observer, the reflected ray appears to have come from the right-hand side
of the mirror
The reflected ray can be traced back in this directions, forming a virtual ray
This can be repeated for another ray travelling in a slightly different direction
An image of the object will appear where these two virtual rays cross
The type of image formed in the mirror is called a virtual image
A virtual image is formed by the divergence of rays from the image, and cannot be
projected onto a piece of paper (because the rays don’t actually go through the
image)
Characteristics of image from a plane mirror:
The image formed is a virtual image
The image formed is erect or upright
The image is the same size as the object
The image is at the same distance behind the mirror as the object is in front of it
The image is laterally inverted
The image from a plane mirror is laterally inverted
Reference Video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=645x2Qu6C0w
Refraction:
Refraction occurs when a wave passes a boundary between two different media
and undergoes a change in direction
The change in direction depends on which media the light rays pass between:
o From less dense to more dense (e.g air to glass), light bends towards the
normal
o From more dense to less dense (e.g. glass to air), light bends away from the
normal
o When passing along the normal (perpendicular) the light does not bend at
all
When waves enter a different medium, their speed changes
o When light passes into a more dense substance the rays will slow down
(wavelength will also decrease since speed and wavelength are directly
related)
o When light passes into a less dense substance, the rays will speed up and
wavelength will increase
The only properties that change during refraction are speed and wavelength – the
frequency of waves does not change
The direction of travel is bent towards the normal in the shallow region
When water waves travel from deep areas to shallow areas they slow down
(and hence their wavelength also becomes shorter)
Refractive Index:
Refractive index is defined as the ratio of the speeds of a wave in vacuum to the
speed of wave in a medium.
The greater the refractive index, the denser is the medium
Remember: refractive index is a number that is always bigger than 1 and is
different for different materials (for example n is about 1.5 for glass and 2.4 for
diamond)
Since refractive index is a ratio, it has no units
Snell’s law
Another equation for the refractive index is:
Where:
o n = the refractive index of the material
o i = angle of incidence of the light (°)
o r = angle of refraction of the light (°)
IMPORTANT:
This formula is only valid when ray is
traveling FROM less dense INTO a more
dense medium.
if the opposite is happening. i.e a ray is
traveling FROM more dense INTO a less
dense medium then the formula will
reverse.
Total Internal Reflection:
Total internal reflection is the complete reflection of a light ray in a denser medium
when the angle of incidence is greater than the critical angle.
Therefore, the two conditions for total internal reflection are:
The angle of incidence > the critical angle
The incident material is denser than the second material
As the angle of incidence is increased, the angle of refraction also increases until it
gets closer to 90°
When the angle of refraction is exactly 90° the light is refracted along the boundary
o At this point, the angle of incidence is known as the critical angle c
Critical angle is the angle of incidence for which the angle of refraction is equal to 90∘.
When the angle of incidence is larger than the critical angle, the refracted ray is
now reflected. This is total internal reflection
Refractive Index & Critical Angle Equation
The relationship between the two quantities is given by the equation:
This can also be written as:
Applications of Total Internal Reflection
Total internal reflection is utilised in:
Optical fibres e.g. endoscopes
Prisms e.g. periscopes
Prisms
Prisms are used in a variety of optical instruments,
including:
o Periscopes
o Binoculars
o Telescopes
o Cameras
A periscope is a device that can be used to see over
tall objects
o It consists of two right-angled prisms
o The light totally internally reflects in both
prisms
Optical Fibres:
Light travelling down an optical fibre is totally internally reflected each time it hits
the edge of the fibre, allowing the high-speed transmission of data on the internet
Optical fibres are also used in medicine (as an endoscope) in order to see within
the human body
