Snell’s law of refraction
E26832
Snell’s law of refraction is a fundamental principle in optics that relates the angles of incidence and refraction to the refractive indices of two media, governing how light bends when passing between them.
Aliases (3)
- Snell's law ×1
- Snell–Descartes law ×1
- Snell’s law ×1
Statements (50)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
law of optics
→
law of refraction → physical law → |
| alsoKnownAs |
Snell–Descartes law
→
Snell’s law → |
| angleMeasuredFrom |
normal to the interface
→
|
| appliesTo |
electromagnetic waves
→
infrared radiation → light rays → microwaves → transition between two homogeneous media → visible light → wavefronts at planar interfaces → |
| assumes |
isotropic media
→
linear media → monochromatic light → non-absorbing media → |
| connects |
speed of light in different media
→
|
| consequenceOf |
wave nature of light
→
|
| derivedFrom |
Fermat’s principle of least time
→
Huygens’ principle → |
| describes |
refraction of light
→
|
| equationForm |
n1 * sin(θ1) = n2 * sin(θ2)
→
|
| expressibleAs |
n = c / v
→
|
| field |
geometrical optics
→
optics → |
| governs |
bending of light at an interface
→
|
| hasLimitation |
does not directly account for anisotropic crystals
→
|
| historicallyAttributedTo |
Willebrord Snellius
→
|
| implies |
light bends away from normal when entering lower index medium
→
light bends toward normal when entering higher index medium → ratio of sines of angles equals ratio of refractive indices → |
| mathematicalType |
trigonometric relation
→
|
| relatedTo |
critical angle
→
law of reflection → total internal reflection → |
| relates |
angle of incidence
→
angle of refraction → refractive index of media → |
| symbolDefinition |
n1 is refractive index of first medium
→
n2 is refractive index of second medium → θ1 is angle of incidence → θ2 is angle of refraction → |
| usedIn |
design of lenses
→
design of prisms → fiber optics → optical imaging systems → ray tracing calculations → refractive index measurements → |
| validWhen |
wavelength is much smaller than system dimensions
→
|
Referenced by (4)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Snell’s law of refraction
("Snell’s law")
→
Snell’s law of refraction ("Snell–Descartes law") → |
alsoKnownAs |
|
Fresnel equations
("Snell's law")
→
|
relatedTo |
|
Newtonian optics
→
|
usesConcept |