How does water bend light?

Question

Do all liquids bend light, does ice, any difference between salt water. Keep it as simple as possible please, I am not blessed with much grey matter!

Answer 1

Light bends when it goes from a less dense medium to a more dense medium and vice versa. What that means is when light goes from air which isn't very dense (isn't made of very tightly packed stuff) to water which is more dense (made of stuff that is more tightly packed) it gets slowed down and so it appears to bend.

It only bends however if the light goes in at an angle. If it goes in straight, it doesn't. Imagine a car drivin towards a sand pit at an angle, when the first wheel hit it, it would carry on turning but not move as fast so the others wheels, still on tarmac, would carry on going at the same speed as before and so the car would turn slightly until all the wheels were in the sand pit.

Salt water would bend the light more than fresh water because it is more dense (this is also the reason it is easier to float in salt water than fresh water).

Hope this is understandable!! I do tend to waffle a bit!! lol.

Answer 2

light is attached to time.

matter distorts time.

the higher the density of the matter, the more time becomes distorted.

this is why we state the speed of light IN A VACUUM because matter makes it seem to go slower.

the "bending" takes place at the INTERFACE between two types of matter. lets draw a simple analogy.

for our two types of matter, lets use a smooth wood floor, and a section of floor with a thick carpet.

now picture a simple axle with two wheels on it, driven by a constant energy motor.. if you launch the wheels straight at the carpeted area, it will slow down, but not change direction.

but if the axle is launched at an angle, one wheels hits the carpet and gets slowed first. the other moves at the original speed, and the path of the axle is bent.

this is a good way to picture what is happening, actually TIME is being bent, and the photons of light are just attached to time.

Answer 3

Pretty much all translucent and transparent substances can bend light. Light is an energy wave, and when this wave passes through substances with higher density, or thicker basically, it slows down the wave, which ends up bending it as a result. It's an effect called refraction.

Answer 4

Light bends when it travels from one medium to another at an angle and changes speed.
Imagine a marching band that is heading at an angle to a patch of sticky mud. One side of the line will hit the mud first, slowing it down. The other side of the line will still be on the grass, moving quicker, until it hits the mud, slowing it down as well. This will result in a net change of direction for the line.

Answer 5

The refractive index of a substance is a measure of the speed of light through it compared with that through a vacuum.
As the beam of light is of finite width it 'bends' the beam if the beam hits at an angle. If it hits it straight on it does not bend it but it is still slowed down.
RoyS

Answer 6

water has a different refractive index to air so therefore slows down the light giving the appearence of bending it.

All liquids will bend light however different liquids will all have a slightly different refractive index, slowing the beam down in different amounts

Answer 7

yes it does
All liquids bend light
it happens according to their density
if the density is higher the angel the light bends is higher too
so we can say that
salt water bends light more than ice/water

Answer 8

Yes. It's by a process called refraction. Take a look at the following websites for a fuller and, probably, simpler explanation of it. You'll find that refraction doesn't only happen with light waves, but happens with sound waves too.

I think the first site gives the easiest explanation.

Answer 9

when light enters a liquid from the air it slowes down because it is more dense a substance this causes the light spectrum to bend because one end is effected less than the other because of the different wavelengths

Answer 10

Water bend light due to refraction. Light bends towards normal when it travels from rarer medium to denser medium and away from normal when it travels from denser medium to rarer medium. Depending on the refractive index of the medium the light rays exhibit bending.