Define Snell’s law of refraction. A ray of light is incident on a glass slab at an angle of incidence of 60°. If the angle of refraction be 32.7°, calculate the refractive index of glass.
(Given : sin 60° = 0.866, and sin 32.7° = 540).
Snell's law: According to the Snell's law of refraction, the ratio of sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction is constant for a given pair of media.
Refractive index = \(\frac{sine\;of\;the\;angle\;of\;incidence}{sine\;of\;the\; angle\;of\;refraction}\)
Given: Angle of incidence = 60°
Angle of refraction = 32.4°
Refractive index = \(\frac{sine\;of\;the\;angle\;of\;incidence}{sine\;of\;the\; angle\;of\;refraction}\)
Refractive index = \(\frac{sin\;60°}{sin\;32.4°}\)
Refractive index = \(\frac{0.866}{0.540}\)
= 1.603