How Does Light Behave When It Travels Between Different Mediums?

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SUMMARY

When light waves transition from one medium, such as air, to another, like water, their velocity changes while their frequency remains constant. This constancy in frequency ensures that light waves maintain coherence at the interface between the two mediums. The change in speed results in a variation in wavelength, which is responsible for the dispersion of light into different colors when passing through a prism, as demonstrated by Sir Isaac Newton.

PREREQUISITES
  • Understanding of wave properties, specifically light waves
  • Basic knowledge of optics and refraction
  • Familiarity with the concept of frequency and wavelength
  • Awareness of historical experiments in optics, particularly those by Sir Isaac Newton
NEXT STEPS
  • Research the principles of refraction and Snell's Law
  • Explore the phenomenon of light dispersion in prisms
  • Study the relationship between frequency, wavelength, and velocity in different mediums
  • Investigate the applications of optics in modern technology, such as fiber optics
USEFUL FOR

Students of physics, educators in optics, and anyone interested in the behavior of light in various mediums will benefit from this discussion.

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When light waves travel from one medium (air) to the next (water), their velocity changes. Does their frequency change also? Or does the wavelength change?
 
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hi gkangelexa! :smile:

the frequency stays the same

(otherwise they wouldn't "join up" properly at the interface :wink:)​
 
Doesn't white light, upon entering a prism, break into colors according to frequency?

Respectfully,
Steve
 
Hi Steve! :smile:

Yup, but the colours are already there (as good ol' Sir Isaac showed :wink:) …

the colours stay the same, but their speeds change, so they go through at different angles, and become separated.​
 

Thread 'Magnitude of buoyant force in fluids of different densities'

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