What is refraction?

Refraction definition, Physics. the change of direction of a ray of light, sound, heat, or the like, in passing obliquely from one medium into another in which its wave velocity is different. See more. read more

Refraction is the change in direction of wave propagation due to a change in its transmission medium. An object (in this case a pencil) part immersed in water looks bent due to refraction: the light waves from X change direction and so seem to originate at Y. read more

The effects of refraction can be seen in a rainbow, which is formed when light rays passing into (and reflecting out of) water droplets are bent at different angles depending on their color, so that the light separates into bands of color. read more

Refraction occurs, as in a lens, when a wave passes from one medium into the second, deviating from the straight path it otherwise would have taken. The amount of deviation or bending depends on the indexes of refraction of each medium, determined by the relative speed of the wave in the two media. read more