Snell's Law

This Snell's Law equation computes the ratio of indices of refraction of Medium 1 and Medium 2 where:

• `theta_1` = Angle of Refraction for Medium 1
• `theta_2` = Angle of Refraction for Medium 2

`n_2"/"n_1`: The equation outputs the ratio of indices of refraction as a real number.

The Math / Science

This equation of Snell's Law comes from another common form that looks like:

• `n_1sintheta_1 = n_2sintheta_2`

with some simply algebra we're left with:

• `n_2/n_1=sintheta_1/sintheta_2`

It is important to note that Snell's Law comes with a lot of different terminology. You may recognize words such as "Medium 1 or 2", "Angle of Transmission," "Angle of Refraction," or "Angle of Reflection." Depending on your situation and what problem you are looking at, the variables in the equation may relate differently in order to what you're trying to solve. So think carefully when plugging in what values go where!

References

31.1 Refraction  by Benjamin Crowell, Light and Matter  licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike license.