- Mirage and looming are optical illusions which are a result of refraction of light.
- A swimming pool always looks shallower than it really is because the light coming from the bottom of the pool bends at the surface due to refraction of light.
- Formation of a rainbow is an example of refraction as the sun rays bend through the raindrops resulting in the rainbow.
- When white light passes through a prism it is split into its component colours – red, orange, yellow, green, blue and violet due to refraction of light.
Applications of Refraction of Light
Refraction has many applications in optics and technology. A few of the prominent applications are listed below:
- A lens uses refraction to form an image of an object for various purposes, such as magnification.
- Spectacles worn by people with defective vision use the principle of refraction.
- Refraction is used in peepholes of house doors, cameras, movie projectors and telescopes.