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Question
A ray of light travelling in air enters obliquely into water. Does the light ray bend towards the normal or away from the normal? Why?
Solution 1
The ray of light bends towards the normal. When a ray of light enters from an optically rarer medium (having low refractive index) to an optically denser medium (having high refractive index), its speed slows down and it bends towards the normal. Since water is optically denser than air, a ray of light entering from air into water will bend towards the normal.
Solution 2
We know that air is a rarer medium and water is a denser medium. When a ray of light goes from a rarer medium to a denser medium, it bends towards the normal. So, the light ray will bend towards the normal in the given case.
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