Reflection and refraction University of Oxford（反射和折射牛津大学）.pdfVIP

Reflection and refraction When light hits a surface, one or more of three things may happen. The light may be reflected back from the surface, transmitted through the material (in which case it will deviate from its initial direction, a process known as refraction) or absorbed by the material if it is not transparent at the wavelength of the incident light. 1. Reflection and refraction Reflection and refraction are governed by two very simple laws. We consider a light wave travelling through medium 1 and striking medium 2. We define the angle of incidence θ as the angle between the incident ray and the normal to the surface (a vector pointing out perpendicular to the surface). For reflection, the reflected ray lies in the plane of incidence, and θ1’ = θ1 For refraction, the refracted ray lies in the plane of incidence, and n sinθ = n sinθ (this expression is 1 1 2 2 called Snell’s law). In the above equations, ni is a dimensionless constant known as the θ1 θ’ index of refraction or refractive index of medium i. In addition to 1 reflection determining the angle of refraction, n also determines the speed of the light wave in the medium, v = c/n. Just as θ1 is the angle between θ refraction 2 the incident ray and the surface normal outside the medium, θ is the