Why is light refracted when it crosses from air to glass?

To answer this question we need to know what makes glass different to air. The main difference is their refractive index. For air it's 1 and for glass it's anywhere between 1.52 - 1.54 depending on the type of glass. Higher refractive index means it's harder for light to pass through. When we say "harder" we usually mean the speed of the light decreases, it moves slower because it's finding it more difficult, glass is denser, it's got more particles. (As a side note, the speed of light is always constant at 30 million meters per second, the reason why the speed "decreases" is a bit more advanced and we will not go into it. The speed of light appears to have decreased is more accurate) . The short answer is, light gets refracted in glass, because it's speed decreases.
What would happen if light was travelling from glass to air? well, it's speed would increase.

SR
Answered by Stefania R. Physics tutor

6824 Views

See similar Physics GCSE tutors

Related Physics GCSE answers

All answers ▸

For a vehicule with a constant acceleration (5 m/s^2) starting at rest, how long would it take to travel 1 km?


How does Ice make drinks Ice cold?


Write the equations of motion for constant acceleration and describe each term involved. Explain how to apply these equations of motion to calculate the horizontal and vertical components of a projectile moving under the force of gravity only.


A rollercoaster carriage wants to go up a slope of length 10m at an angle of 30 degrees above the horizontal, at what speed must the carriage be travelling at the bottom of the slope in order for it to reach the top? (Negligable Drag)


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning