General Physics II

Light as an Electromagnetic Wave

 Overview
For this two-week lesson, we will begin by understanding the different
ideas and concepts that are in the scope of light and electromagnetic waves.
Specifically, we will be studying the following:
 Maxwell’s synthesis of electricity, magnetism, and optics
 EM waves and light
 Law of Reflection
 Law of Refraction (Snell’s Law)
 Dispersion
 Reflection of Light
When light strikes a material, it
has a capacity to bounce against it
or be reflected. This phenomenon
is known as the reflection of light,
and it is governed by the law of
reflection, which is stated as:
“The angle of incidence () is
equal to the angle of reflection ().
Furthermore, the incident ray, the
reflected ray, and the normal to the
surface all lie on the same plane.”
 Reflection of Light
In the figure above, the reflecting
surface corresponds to any surface where
a light ray can bounce against. Mirrors are
most commonly used to represent such
reflecting surfaces. The incident ray is the
light ray that approaches the reflecting
surface and forms an angle with the line
that is normal or perpendicular to the
surface. This formed angle is referred to
as the angle of incidence (). The light ray
that bounces off the reflecting surface is
the reflected ray. This ray also forms an
angle with the normal line, and this angle
is referred to as the angle of reflection ().
 Reflection of Light
When light is incident on a smooth
surface, it produces regular reflection.
In regular reflection, the reflected rays
have only one direction. Meanwhile,
diffused reflection is produced from
light being incident to rough surfaces
wherein the reflected rays have
varying directions. To illustrate, we are
able to read because of the diffused
reflection of light from this page. This
kind of reflection enables us to see
objects from any direction or position.
 Refraction of Light
Light travels fastest in a vacuum (. In ordinary air, it
travels a bit slower with a speed of . In water, light
travels at a rate of ; in ordinary glass, it travels at . These
variations in the speed of light as it travels through
different media reveal that as the medium becomes
denser, light travels at a slower rate. This is the
governing principle of refraction. Refraction is the
bending of light as it enters a different optical medium.
 Refraction of Light
This bending of light is associated with the absolute index
of refraction of the medium, which is calculated as follows:

In this equation, is the absolute index of refraction, is

the speed of light in a vacuum, and is the speed of light in
the material. Every material has its unique index of
refraction. This implies that light will bend in different ways
for different materials.
 Refraction of Light
As a ray of light passes obliquely
through the boundary between two
materials with different indices of
refraction, the ray bends (refraction).
The table summarizes how light will
bend as it enters a material.
Comparison of
the Indices of Behavior of the Refracted Ray
Refraction
Refracted ray bends toward the normal
as it enters material 2.
Refracted ray bends away from the
normal as it enters material 2.
 Refraction of Light
Similar with the law of In the figure on the left, we could
reflection, the incident ray, see that the law of refraction is
the refracted ray, and the somehow similar to the law of
normal to the surface all lie on reflection. The incident ray is the
light ray that joins the two materials
the same plane. Refraction is and forms an angle with the normal
illustrated in the figure below. line or the line perpendicular to it.
This formed angle is also called the
angle of incidence . The bent light
ray that penetrates the other
material is referred to as the
refracted ray. This ray also forms an
angle with the normal line, and this
angle is referred to as the angle of
refraction .
 Snell’s Law
How a ray is refracted at the
interface between two materials of
different indices of refraction () is given
by Snell’s law, which was named after
the Dutch mathematician Willebrod
Snell (1580 – 1626). It is
mathematically stated as:

In this equation, is the angle

between the normal line and the
associated ray in medium 1, and is the
angle between the normal line and the
angle associated ray in medium 2.
 Snell’s Law
Listed on the right are Index of

some materials and their

Medium
refraction
Vacuum 1.000000
indexes of refraction. Gases (at
Air
 
1.000293
Carbon dioxide 1.000450
Hydrogen 1.000139
Liquid (at )  
Water 1.33
Ethyl alcohol 1.36
Glycerin 1.47
Benzene 1.50

Solid (at )  
Ice () 1.31
Glass (crown) 1.52
Glass (flint) 1.65
Sodium chloride 1.53
Zircon 1.92
Diamond 2.42
 Snell’s Law
Example 1:
Light travels from crown glass into water. The angle
of incidence in the crown glass is . What is the angle of
refraction in water? The index of refraction of the
crown glass is 1.52 and the water is 1.33.
Solution:
 Snell’s Law
Solution:

The angle of
refraction in water is .
 Snell’s Law
Example 2:
Light travels in water with a speed of . Calculate the
refractive index of water.
Solution:
Considering the equation for absolute index of refraction, we
have:

The refractive index of water is approximately .

 Snell’s Law
Example 3:
Consider a glass block that is thick and has a refractive index of 1.55.
How long will it take for a pulse of light to pass through the block?
Solution:
Recall that:

Then, we have:

It will take approximately for light to pass through the glass block.
 Snell’s Law
Example 4:
Suppose a layer of oil (refractive index of 1.45) floats
on water (refractive index of 1.33). If a ray of light
shines onto the oil with an incidence angle of , what is
the angle formed between the ray and the surface of
the water?
 Snell’s Law
Solution:
At the interface between the air and the oil, we
have:

Considering the interface between the oil and the

water, we have:

Equating the considered equation yields:

 Snell’s Law
Then, we have:

The angle formed between the ray and the surface

of the water is approximately .
 Snell’s Law
Consider a ray of light passing from
a medium of higher index of refraction
to a medium of lower index. Note that
part of the incident ray is refracted in
the medium, whereas the other part is
reflected back by the interface. As
must be larger than , we can adjust to
be large enough to make become .
This value for is the critical angle of
the medium. If is greater than the Mathematically, the critical
critical angle, the refracted ray will not angle is computed as follows:
exist. Instead, all light is reflected. This
phenomenon is referred to as total
internal reflection. It is illustrated by This relationship implies that
the figure on the right. total internal reflection can
occur only if .
 Snell’s Law
Example 5:
Diamond has a refractive index of . Compute the critical
angle of light passing from the diamond to the air.
Solution:
By direct substitution to the formula for the critical angle,
we have:

The critical angle is approximately .

 Snell’s Law
Example 6:
Compute the critical angle of light passing from glass with
to water with an index of refraction of.
Solution:
By direct substitution to the formula for the critical angle,
we have:

The critical angle is approximately .