Educator

Refraction of Light, Part 1

• Speed of light in vacuum = c = 300,000,000 m/s.
• In a medium, the speed of light v is less than c. The quantity n = c/v is the index of refraction of the medium.
• Snell’s Law: n_1*sin(theta_1) = n_2*sin(theta_2). The law describes the bending of light as it travels from one medium into another.
• It is possible to derive Snell’s law from Fermat’s principle.