CONTEXT
KEYWORDS
- Physics
- Optics
- Python
One of the most basic laws of optics is the law of Snell-Descartes. When a ray of light reaches the boundary separating 2 mediums, a part of the light is reflected and another part effectively moves across the boundary. The law states that if 2 mediums have different refractive indices, any ray moving across the boundary will be refracted (the angle it makes with the line perpendicular to the boundary surface will change). If the second medium's refractive index is sufficiently higher than the first medium's refractive index, no ray will move across the boundary. This phenomenon is called total internal reflection.
WORK
I made a software which helps visualize this law. The user inputs 2 refractive indices and the angle the incoming ray is making with the line perpendicular to the boundary surface. The refracted ray's angle is then computed (if it exists) and all the rays that exist are plotted afterwards.
