6.05 Refraction

Refraction is when light is bent or changes direction as it travels through different media.

Anything that light can pass through can bend the light. Glass, for example, can bend light. If the glass is in a special shape, it can make things appear closer and larger. That's how magnifying glasses, telescopes, camera lenses, and even Grandma's reading glasses work. They all refract light.

When the light travels through the air (the first medium) it is traveling in a straight line. When it strikes the water (the second medium), that light changes direction slightly and travels along a different straight line. When it leaves the water and meets the air again, the light is bent back to the original direction.

Refracted light makes objects appear to be larger or closer, as the light travels from one medium to another. In the first set of pictures, the glass in the magnifying glass bends the light to make the ladybug appear larger and closer than it is.

Visible light is called white light. White light is made up of all the colors mixed together. We can see the colors when white light is refracted, like in a rainbow.

The prism separates the white light into all the colors. This is very similar to how a rainbow appears in the sky. The raindrops act like a million little prisms.