7.3: Refraction

Physics 110 · LibreTexts

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    From LibreTexts, under CC BY-NC-SA, as the source states it; its equations are written in TeX, which the PDF shows typeset. This page at LibreTexts.

    A wave that changes speed as it crosses the boundary of between two materials will also change direction if it crosses the boundary at an angle other than perpendicular. This is because the part of the wavefront that gets to the boundary first, slows down first. The bending of a wave due to changes in speed as it crosses a boundary is called refraction.

    This page titled 7.3: Refraction was last modified on Sun, 05 Oct 2025 22:29:31 GMT and is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Andrew Morrison (Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois (CARLI)) .