Question

When light undergoes refraction, its frequency …….?

Answer 1

Hint:To explain the effect of light refraction on frequency, we make use of the concept of refraction of the light which states the bending of light as it passes from one transparent substance into another from one medium to the other medium. Law of refraction states that the incident ray, the refracted ray, and the normal to the interface, all lie in the same plane.

Complete answer:
Refraction is an effect that occurs when a light wave, incident at an angle away from the normal, passes a boundary from one medium into another in which there is a change in velocity of the light. Light is refracted when it crosses the interface from air into glass in which it moves more slowly. Since the light speed changes at the interface, the wavelength of the light changes. The wavelength decreases as the light enters the medium and the light wave changes direction.

Light refracts as it passes through a material, its direction changes, but it still passes through.Light travels at a maximum speed - the speed of light in a vacuum, but when traveling in anything else it slows down. Different materials slow the speed of passing light at different rates. When refracting, light doesn't change its frequency, but since it changes its speed, it must also change its wavelength.

When light undergoes refraction, its frequency remains the same.

Note: In refraction of light waves, as waves travel from rarer medium into the denser medium, they slow down and wavelength decreases. Part of the wave travels faster for longer causing the wave to turn. The wave is slower but the wavelength is shorter meaning frequency remains the same.