What are real-life examples of refraction phenomena?

Real-life examples of refraction phenomena include rainbow formation, mirages, lens focusing, and light bending in water.

Refraction is a fundamental concept in physics, which describes how light or any wave bends when it passes from one medium to another. This bending of light is responsible for several natural and man-made phenomena. One of the most common examples is the formation of rainbows. When sunlight passes through raindrops, it refracts, or bends, and then reflects off the inside surface of the droplet. As it exits the droplet, it refracts again, separating into its various colours and creating a rainbow.

Mirages are another fascinating example of refraction. They occur when light waves from a distant object pass through air layers of different temperatures. This temperature difference changes the air's density, causing the light to refract and create an image of the object in the sky or on the ground. This is why, on a hot day, you might see what looks like a pool of water on the road ahead, but it disappears as you get closer.

In everyday life, we also see refraction when we use lenses. Eyeglasses, microscopes, and cameras all use lenses to focus light. When light passes through these lenses, it refracts and converges at a point, allowing us to see a clear image. This is particularly important in corrective eyewear, where the lens's shape is specifically designed to refract light in a way that compensates for the eye's inability to focus light correctly.

Lastly, refraction is also evident when we put a straw in a glass of water. The straw appears to bend at the water's surface due to the change in light speed when it moves from air to water. This is a simple yet effective demonstration of how refraction can alter our perception of an object's position or shape.