Imagine you're in a pool, and you see your friend on the other side of the water. They look a little closer than they actually are, that’s because light bends when it moves from one material to another, like air to water. This bending is called light refraction. Think of it like a ball rolling from a smooth floor into a grassy field, it changes direction slightly because the surface under it changed.
Examples
- When you look at a fish underwater, it seems closer to the surface than it actually is due to refraction.
- The bottom of a swimming pool looks shallower than it really is because of how light bends in water.
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See also
- How do rainbows form, and why are they always curved?
- What is light like water in a pond?
- Why Do Rainbows Have Different Colors?
- Why Do We See Mirages on Hot Days?
- What does the light still have to go through?