Will the beam of light always change direction when it passes from one medium to

Question

Will the beam of light always change direction when it passes from one medium to another? Which of the following statements regarding this situation are true?

a ) As long as the two media have different indices of refraction, the beam will always change direction as it passes from one medium to the other.

b )If the two media have the same index of refraction the beam will not change direction as it passes from one medium to the other.

c) In a situation where the index of refraction of medium 1 is larger than that of medium 2, the beam will not change direction if the angle of incidence equals the critical angle.

d ) If the angle of incidence is 0 degrees (i.e., the beam is directed along the normal) the beam will not change direction as it passes from one medium to the other.

e ) If the angle of incidence is 45 degrees the beam will not change direction as it passes from one medium to the other.

f ) If the index of refraction of medium 1 is lower than that of medium 2, the beam will be refracted away from the normal in medium 2. The reverse is true if the index of refraction of medium 1 is lower than that of medium 2.

g ) None of the above is true. A beam of light always changes direction when it passes from one medium to another.

Explanation / Answer

When a ray of light passes from one medim to another, it changes direction, provided:

1) the media have different refractive indices.

2) the light ray is not incident normally

When the ray passes from rarer to denser medium, it bends towards the normal and vice versa.

Based on these, the correct options are: b, d

a is not true as it does not hold for normal incidence.

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