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MotionLab
Why a straw looks bent in a glass of water — light bending as it crosses between materials.
Light travels at different speeds in different materials (slower in denser optical media like water or glass) — this speed change causes the wave to bend, similar to how a wheel pulls to one side if one wheel hits mud while the other stays on pavement.
When light travels from a denser to a less dense medium at a steep enough angle, Snell's law has no valid solution — light can't refract out at all and instead reflects entirely back into the denser medium, which is how fiber optic cables work.
Angle of refraction (°)
22.082
n₁sin(θ₁) = n₂sin(θ₂)
What you entered
θ₂ = asin(n₁sin(θ₁) ÷ n₂)
asin(1×sin(30°) ÷ 1.33)= 22.0824°Result
Angle of refraction (°): 22.082
Light entering at 30° from a medium with n₁=1 into n₂=1.33 refracts to 22.08°.