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Bending light - refraction producing an optical illusion ... Now take the pencil and let it lean against the side of the glass. Now look through the glass at the pencil. Notice that it appears bent. This is the effect of refraction or bending of light.
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If you have ever half-submerged a straight stick into water, you have probably noticed that the stick appears bent at the point it enters the water (see Figure 1.) This optical effect is due to refraction. As light passes from one transparent medium to another, it changes speed, and bends.
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(See Snell's Law for the Refraction of Light for more information.) ... Then, as they leave the muddy area, they go to their original speed, thus bending the direction of travel again. The original direction and the final direction are parallel but displaced.
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Students will learn about refraction of light by experimenting with various objects. ... Put the word refraction on the board and define it as the bending of light as light passes through materials of differing densities. Have them write the definition in their science journals and write about the example found in Hatchet.
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Light refraction is also responsible for other unique effects, like bending the rays of a setting sun to give it an elliptical, "flattened-out" appearance.
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Refraction - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The theme for this issue of Bending Light Magazine is "worth a thousand words." An old saying, we know, but one with so much potential - because what we really wanted to find were images that pushed beyond the proverb.
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