I read in the wikipedia that when refraction takes place wave length changes depending on the medium but the frequency remains the same. We know that the frequency and wavelength are inter-related. How can the frequency remain the same when the wavelength varaies?
2007-02-09 05:47:43 · 7 answers · asked by PLK 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Astronomy & Space
Light slows down as it passes through a transparent medium, like air, glass, or water. That's what causes the wavelength to change.
The amount of slowing is equal to the reciprocal of the medium's refractive index. In other words, the more a medium refracts light, the more light slows down as it travels through that medium.
2007-02-09 06:15:40 · answer #1 · answered by Keith P 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In refraction, light travels from one medium to another that has a different effective speed of light. This causes the wavelength to change. The frequency does not change---think about the waves at any particular place in the system. The frequency at that place cannot change, because otherwise the waves would "pile up"---everything needs to keep oscillating at the same frequency. So the wavelength changes, and the speed of light changes, but not the frequency.
2007-02-09 06:51:44 · answer #2 · answered by cosmo 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
As other people have said, the speed of light changes according to the refractive index.
One way to understand why the frequency is the parameter that is constant is to consider conservation of energy. Photon energy is equal to Plank's constant * frequency. Since refraction does not change the energy of a photon (once the light reemerges from the refracting medium it resumes its original path at the original wavelength and frequency) the frequency must be constant.
2007-02-09 18:46:01 · answer #3 · answered by amused_from_afar 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The speed of the wave changes: speed=wavelength x frequency
2007-02-09 05:53:13 · answer #4 · answered by supersonic332003 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The three physical variables here are speed, frequency, and wavelength.
speed= frequency * wavelength
The *only* way that the situation you describe can occur is if the speed changes proportionally to the wavelength independent of frequency.
2007-02-09 06:24:27 · answer #5 · answered by Jerry P 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
wavelength is the distance a vibration travels in one cycle.
frequency is the amount of vibrations per second.
if the wavelength changes, and the frequency stays the same, that means that the speed at which the vibration travels has changed.
the same number of vibrations per second, at a slower speed give a shorter wavelength
this is exactly what happens.
sound travels much faster in steel than it does in air. hence indians and railtracks :D
hope this helped
2007-02-09 05:54:16 · answer #6 · answered by mrzwink 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Total internal reflection.
2016-03-28 23:45:55 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋