Snells Law and the Refraction of Light

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on applying Snell's Law to determine the angle of refraction for a light ray passing through a glass block surrounded by liquid carbon disulfide. The user correctly identifies the need to use Snell's Law twice: once for the light entering the glass and once for exiting it. The challenge lies in the geometry, as the exiting ray will not be parallel to the incident ray, necessitating a geometric approach to relate the angles. The refracted ray can be visualized as the hypotenuse of a right triangle, allowing for the calculation of the angles involved. The thread emphasizes the importance of understanding both Snell's Law and the geometric relationships to solve the problem effectively.
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The drawing shows a rectangular block of glass (n = 1.52) surrounded by liquid carbon disulfide (n = 1.63). A ray of light is incident on the glass at point A with a theta = 23.0° angle of incidence. At what angle of refraction does the ray leave the glass at point B?

http://www.boomspeed.com/boogiel80/refraction.gif

I know I have to use snells law n1theta1=n2theta2. I also know I have to use it twice, once for entering the glass and then again for when the light ray exits the glass. However, as the drawing shows, the ray that exits will not be parellel to the original ray, so I know I need to do some geometry to figure out the angles, but I have no idea where to start with the geometry. Please Help. Thanks.
 
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Draw the refracted ray going from side A to side B. Consider that refracted ray to be the hypotenuse of a right triangle whose sides are the normals to sides A and B. Use that triangle to relate the angle of refraction at side A to the angle of incidence at side B.
 
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