Explaining Snell's Law in Simple Terms

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around Snell's Law, with participants seeking to explain the concept in simpler terms. The scope includes conceptual understanding and analogies to facilitate comprehension.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Conceptual clarification, Debate/contested

Main Points Raised

  • One participant suggests using the analogy of a marching band to visualize how parts slow down and how that relates to Snell's Law.
  • Another participant references a link to Wikipedia for additional information on Snell's Law.
  • A different participant reiterates the marching band analogy and provides another link, while expressing skepticism about the effectiveness of this analogy.
  • One participant mentions a preference for understanding Snell's Law through Christian Huygens' wavelet theory, indicating that the classical explanation may not fully capture the phenomenon.
  • A participant emphasizes the need for the original poster to clarify their prior knowledge and specific points of confusion to facilitate a better explanation.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants express differing views on the effectiveness of analogies for explaining Snell's Law, with some supporting the marching band analogy and others questioning its utility. The discussion remains unresolved regarding the best approach to explain the concept.

Contextual Notes

There are limitations in the discussion regarding the assumptions behind the analogies and the varying levels of understanding among participants. The references to different theories suggest a dependence on specific interpretations of light behavior.

music_lover12
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Okay, so I've tried doing some research about Snell's Law, and I haven't been able to find information that I actually understand. Could someone explain this to me in terms that will help me?
 
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think of a marching band.

when parts of the marching band slow down, see what would happen. Draw a whole bunch of snapshots of what would happen (as a function of time) and you will completely understand snell's law.
 
And read some of this,

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Snell's_law
 
tim_lou said:
think of a marching band.

when parts of the marching band slow down, see what would happen. Draw a whole bunch of snapshots of what would happen (as a function of time) and you will completely understand snell's law.

http://www.lhup.edu/~dsimanek/scenario/analogy.htm

that's a terrible way to understand it.

i have a really good explanation of christian hygen's wavelet theory and that translates to an understanding of snell's law. but really since it not what actually happens anyway i would just take it for granted until you get to the quantum explanation
 
We cannot give it to you in terms is you understand unless you indicate what you have already read and why you don't understand it.

Claude.
 

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