Home
Class 12
PHYSICS
On a hot summer night, the refractive in...

On a hot summer night, the refractive index of air is smallest near the ground and increases with height from the ground. When a light beam is directed horizontally, the Huygens` principal leads us to conclude that as it travels, the light beam:

A

becomes nerrower

B

goes horizontally without any deflection

C

bends downwards

D

bends upwards

Text Solution

Verified by Experts

The correct Answer is:
D

Ray `2` will travel faster than `1`,
so beam will bend upward
Promotional Banner

Topper's Solved these Questions

  • WAVE OPTICS

    RESONANCE|Exercise Exercise-3 (Part-3)|22 Videos

  • WAVE OPTICS

    RESONANCE|Exercise Advanced Level Problems|8 Videos

  • WAVE OPTICS

    RESONANCE|Exercise Exercise-3 (Part-1)|11 Videos

  • WAVE ON STRING

    RESONANCE|Exercise Exercise- 3 PART I|19 Videos

Similar Questions

Explore conceptually related problems

A thin lens made of a material of refractive index mu_2 has a medium of refractive index mu_1 on one side and a medium of refractive index on the other side. The lens is biconvex and the two radii of curvature have equal magnitude R. A beam of light travelling parallel to the principal axis is incident on the lens. Where will the image be formed if the beam is incident from (a) the medium p, and (b) from the medium mu_3 ?

A horizontal cylindrical tank is half full of water ( refractive index =(4)/(3)) . The space above the water is filled with a light liquid of unknown refractive index (mu) . A small laser source (s) can move along the curved bottom of the cylinder and aims a light beam towards the centre of the cylinder. The time needed by the laser beam to travel from the source to the rim of the cylinder depends on position (theta) of the source as shown in the graph. Find mu , it is given that sin theta_(0) = (5)/(6) .

A stone is dropped from a stationary hot air balloon in the air travels 14.7m in the last second before it hits the ground. Find the height of the balloon from the ground.

The refractive index of water is 4//3 and that of glass is 3//2 . A beam of light enters glass from water. For what angle of incidence will the refracted light be completely polarised ?

A spherical surface of radius R separates air from a medium of refractive index mu . Parallel beam of light is incident, from medium side, making a small angle theta with the principal axis of the spherical surface. Find the co-ordinates of the point where the rays will focus in air.