refraction
"Austen's wry analysis of how social context can refract the meaning of language is a strikingly modern achievement."
at first thought this 'refract' is some archaic form of 'reflect', then the sentence makes no sense... I was a terrible student with physics, reflected upon this fact that having read the below explanations my best understanding is only achieved by a photo of a straw in a water glass...
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction)
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed but its frequency remains constant. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one medium to another at any angle other than 90° or 0°. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon, but any type of wave can refract when it interacts with a medium, for example when sound waves pass from one medium into another or when water waves move into water of a different depth. Refraction is described by Snell's law, which states that for a given pair of media and a wave with a single frequency, the ratio of the sines of the angle of incidence θ1 and angle of refraction θ2 is equivalent to the ratio of phase velocities (v1 / v2) in the two media, or equivalently, to the opposite ratio of the indices of refraction (n2 / n1):
\frac{\sin\theta_1}{\sin\theta_2} = \frac{v_1}{v_2} = \frac{n_2}{n_1} .
In general, the incident wave is partially refracted and partially reflected; the details of this behavior are described by the Fresnel equations.
(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_reflection_and_refraction)
Refraction and reflection refer to the behavior that occurs when a wave; e.g. light, sound, or seismic, encounters a material with different physical properties than what it was traveling in. For instance, light traveling through the air moves at a certain speed and in a certain direction. However, when it encounters another material, say water, some of the light can bounce off the water surface. This is called reflection, and follows the law that the angle of reflection will equal the angle of incidence on the surface (measured from the normal to the surface). So, if the light comes in at an incidence angle of 45 degrees it will be reflected at 45 degrees.
In the case of light hitting water, some of the light will not be reflected, but instead will pass into the water. The speed of light in water is slower than the speed of light in air, so the light ray slows down. This results in the light bending slightly, an effect known as refraction. Refraction follows Snell's law which states: n1sin(angle of incidence) = n2sin(angle of refraction), again measured from the normal to the interface. The quantity n, or index of refraction, is defined as n = c/(velocity in the medium), where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and the denominator is the speed of light in the medium, in this case water. This is what causes things to look bent when they pass from air into water. Sound, and other important waves have the same properties as light waves for reflection and refraction.
at first thought this 'refract' is some archaic form of 'reflect', then the sentence makes no sense... I was a terrible student with physics, reflected upon this fact that having read the below explanations my best understanding is only achieved by a photo of a straw in a water glass...
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refraction)
Refraction is the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its speed. It is essentially a surface phenomenon . The phenomenon is mainly in governance to the law of conservation of energy. The proper explanation would be that due to change of medium, the phase velocity of the wave is changed but its frequency remains constant. This is most commonly observed when a wave passes from one medium to another at any angle other than 90° or 0°. Refraction of light is the most commonly observed phenomenon, but any type of wave can refract when it interacts with a medium, for example when sound waves pass from one medium into another or when water waves move into water of a different depth. Refraction is described by Snell's law, which states that for a given pair of media and a wave with a single frequency, the ratio of the sines of the angle of incidence θ1 and angle of refraction θ2 is equivalent to the ratio of phase velocities (v1 / v2) in the two media, or equivalently, to the opposite ratio of the indices of refraction (n2 / n1):
\frac{\sin\theta_1}{\sin\theta_2} = \frac{v_1}{v_2} = \frac{n_2}{n_1} .
In general, the incident wave is partially refracted and partially reflected; the details of this behavior are described by the Fresnel equations.
(http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_difference_between_reflection_and_refraction)
Refraction and reflection refer to the behavior that occurs when a wave; e.g. light, sound, or seismic, encounters a material with different physical properties than what it was traveling in. For instance, light traveling through the air moves at a certain speed and in a certain direction. However, when it encounters another material, say water, some of the light can bounce off the water surface. This is called reflection, and follows the law that the angle of reflection will equal the angle of incidence on the surface (measured from the normal to the surface). So, if the light comes in at an incidence angle of 45 degrees it will be reflected at 45 degrees.
In the case of light hitting water, some of the light will not be reflected, but instead will pass into the water. The speed of light in water is slower than the speed of light in air, so the light ray slows down. This results in the light bending slightly, an effect known as refraction. Refraction follows Snell's law which states: n1sin(angle of incidence) = n2sin(angle of refraction), again measured from the normal to the interface. The quantity n, or index of refraction, is defined as n = c/(velocity in the medium), where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and the denominator is the speed of light in the medium, in this case water. This is what causes things to look bent when they pass from air into water. Sound, and other important waves have the same properties as light waves for reflection and refraction.
