What is refraction?

Refraction is when light bends as it moves from one material to another, like when it goes from air to water or glass.

Imagine you're walking on a sunny day and you see a puddle in the road. When you look at your feet, they seem further away than they really are. That’s because the light coming from your feet bends as it moves from the water in the puddle up to the air around it, that’s refraction!

Think of a slide on a playground. If you go straight down, you’re moving fast and smooth. But if you hit a part of the slide that goes sideways, your path changes, you're still going down, but now you're also going to the side.

Refraction is like that! The light is going along its path when it hits something new, like water or glass, and suddenly it changes direction, just like you on the slide. This happens because light travels at different speeds in different materials. In air, it goes fast, but in water, it slows down a bit.

That’s why things look bent or shifted when they're partly in water, like a straw in a glass of soda! Refraction is when light bends as it moves from one material to another, like when it goes from air to water or glass.

Imagine you're walking on a sunny day and you see a puddle in the road. When you look at your feet, they seem further away than they really are. That’s because the light coming from your feet bends as it moves from the water in the puddle up to the air around it, that’s refraction!

Think of a slide on a playground. If you go straight down, you’re moving fast and smooth. But if you hit a part of the slide that goes sideways, your path changes, you're still going down, but now you're also going to the side.

Refraction is like that! The light is going along its path when it hits something new, like water or glass, and suddenly it changes direction, just like you on the slide. This happens because light travels at different speeds in different materials. In air, it goes fast, but in water, it slows down a bit.

That’s why things look bent or shifted when they're partly in water, like a straw in a glass of soda!