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Chapter 14: Problem 9

If you place a perfectly clear piece of glass in perfectly clear water, you can still see the glass. Why?

Short Answer

Expert verified
The glass is visible in clear water because the refractive indices of glass and water are different, causing light to change its direction and reflect back to our eyes, making us aware of the glass.

Step by step solution

01

Understand the Concept of Refractive Index

The refractive index of a medium is a measure of how much the speed of light (or other waves such as sound waves) is reduced inside the medium. Different substances have different refractive indices. The refractive index of air is approximately 1, the refractive index of water is about 1.33, and the refractive index of glass is approximately 1.5.
02

Apply the Concept of Refractive Index to the Exercise

When light passes from one medium to another and there is a difference in the refractive indexes between those two media, it alters its course (this is called refraction) and some of that light is also reflected. So when you see the glass submerged in the water, what you are actually seeing is the light that is being reflected and refracted by the surface of the glass.
03

Conclude and Answer the Exercise

Even though both the glass and the water are clear, they have different refractive indices. When you place the glass in the water, light does not travel through the glass and the water in the same way due to their different refractive indices. This difference causes some of the light to be bent or reflected at the glass-water interface, allowing us to see the glass.

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