angle of refraction
Noun
Meaning
the angle between a refracted ray and a line perpendicular to the surface between the two media at the point of refraction
Source: WordNetSynonyms
Hypernyms
Examples
Light enters medium 2 from medium 1 via point O. is the angle of incidence, is the angle of refraction.
This implies that, while the surfaces of constant real phase are planes whose normals make an angle equal to the angle of refraction with the interface normal, the surfaces of constant amplitude, in contrast, are planes parallel to the interface itself.
Consequently, so are the angle of refraction and the wave-vector.
Part of the wave is transmitted and part is reflected, with the ratio depending on angle of incidence and the angle of refraction.
Since the velocity is lower in the second medium (v 2 < v 1 ), the angle of refraction θ 2 is less than the angle of incidence θ 1 ; that is, the ray in the higher-index medium is closer to the normal.