This week’s WP Photo challenge: Refraction
Basically, refraction is the “bending” of light. Light bends (changes directions) when it travels from one medium to another. This happens because light travels at different speeds in different mediums.
The stem of the sunflower appears to be broken because of the difference between the angle at which light from it strikes the vertical edge of the glass versus the horizontal surface of the water.
How a rainbow is made: Visible light is a spectrum of wavelengths, each associated with a distinct color. Light is refracted as it enters a water droplet because water is denser than air. Red is bent less, blue is bent more. Some of the light will reflect off the back of the drop if the angle is larger than 48° (for water). The light is then refracted again as it leaves the drop. The colors of white light have been dispersed. Blue light will leave the drop at an angle of 40° from the beam of sunlight and red light will leave the drop at an angle of 42° from the beam of sunlight. Each individual droplet of water acts as a tiny prism that both disperses the light and reflects it back to your eye. However, we cannot see blue light and red light refracted from the same drop!! That is why many, many drops are needed to produce a rainbow.
Photos ©Patricia Hartman
