Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
We know that light refracts (or bends) when it goes from one medium to another. Now, the atmosphere contains only air. Then how does light get refracted on passing through only air in the atmosphere?
Solution
We know that light refracts when it travels from one medium to another. Though the earth's atmosphere contains only air, refraction takes place because the atmosphere consists of layers of air that are at different temperatures. The layers of air that are hotter behave like an optically rarer medium and those that are cooler behave like an optically denser medium. Therefore, when light travels through these layers of air of different optical densities, bending of light, or refraction, takes place.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
Explain why the planets do not twinkle.
The correct sequencing of angle of incidence, angle of emergence, angle of refraction and lateral displacement shown in the following diagram by digits 1, 2, 3 and 4 is:
(a) 2, 4, 1, 3
(b) 2, 1, 4, 3
(c) 1, 2, 4, 3
(d) 2, 1, 3, 4
Name two effects produced by the atmospheric refraction.
Atmospheric refraction causes advance sunrise and delayed sunset. By how much time is:
sunrise advanced?
Fill in the following blank with suitable word:
We can see the sun about ................ minutes before the actual sunrise and about ................ minutes after the actual sunset because of atmospheric ................
What is atmospheric refraction? What causes atmospheric refraction?
The twinkling of stars is due to atmospheric:
(a) reflection of light
(b) dispersion of light
(c) interference of light
(d) refraction of light
As light from a far off star comes down towards the earth:
(a) it bends away from the normal
(b) it bends towards the normal
(c) it does not bend at all
(d) it is reflected back
What causes the scattering of blue component of sunlight in the atmosphere?
Explain the refraction of light through a triangular glass prism using a labelled ray diagram. Hence define the angle of deviation.
