Fresnel Equations and Snells Law

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    Fresnel Law
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The discussion centers on the relationship between the Fresnel Equations and Snell's Law, specifically how to derive one from the other through trigonometric manipulation. A participant expresses difficulty in connecting the two equations, despite recognizing that they involve tangent functions. Another contributor suggests starting from the tangent form to reach the Fresnel Equation, indicating that expanding the tangents simplifies the proof. The conversation highlights the importance of understanding the underlying trigonometric identities to bridge the two equations. Ultimately, the discussion emphasizes the mathematical connections between these fundamental optics concepts.
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I have seen in many textbooks that the following Fresnel Equation \frac{n_t{cos(\theta_i)} - n_i{cos(\theta_t)}}{n_t{cos(\theta_i)} + n_i{cos(\theta_t)}} and then they say that via Snells Law we get the following equation \frac{tan(\theta_i - \theta_t)}{tan(\theta_i + \theta_t)}

I can see that some trig manipulation was done, and I know that {tan(\theta)} = \frac{cos(\theta)}{sin(\theta)} but I cannot seen to get to that final result correct. If anyone is able to show me the maths behind it that would be great.
 
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When I first encountered this, it bothered me too because I couldn't connect them. But at last I did it with a trick. I started from the second one to reach the first one, which is pretty easy. And then the proof you want is the reverse of that. Just expand the tangents and the rest is almost obvious.
 
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