A light wave is traveling straight up out of the ocean then moves out into the air how do you expect the movement of the light wave to change the light wave will

Question

Maci Cervantes

Physics

13 August, 19:05

A light wave is traveling straight up out of the ocean then moves out into the air how do you expect the movement of the light wave to change the light wave will

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Francis Jefferson · Answer 1

If the light is traveling straight up, then it hits the interface (surface

or boundary) between water and air perpendicularly (90° to the surface).

This direction is the direction of the 'normal' to the surface. So the

angle of incidence is zero, and that means the angle of refraction is

also zero. The light just keeps going in the same direction when it

emerges into the air, and is not bent.

However, its speed increases in air, and that means its wavelength

also becomes longer than it was in the water.