Answer to Question #327916 in Optics for Geruu

Question

Explain snell law

Answer 1

Snell's law, in optics, a relationship between the path taken by a ray of light in crossing the boundary or surface of separation between two contacting substances and the refractive index of each. This law was discovered in 1621 by the Dutch astronomer and mathematician Willebrord Snell (also called Snellius). The account of Snell’s law went unpublished until its mention by Christiaan Huygens in his treatise on light. In the Figure, n₁ and n₂ represent the indices of refraction for the two media, and α₁ and α₂ are the angles of incidence and refraction that the ray R makes with the normal (perpendicular) line NN at the boundary. Snell’s law asserts that n₁/n₂ = sin α₂/sin α₁.