Exploring Refraction with Light
At the English International School of Bratislava, our Year 9 students recently took part in a hands-on physics investigation to explore one of the most important concepts in optics: refraction of light.
Experiment with Powerful Results
Using a laser pointer, a transparent glass container, and a ruler placed at the bottom, students first directed a laser beam through air and recorded where it hit the ruler.
They then carefully filled the same container with water (without changing the position or angle of the laser) and repeated the observation.
The difference was immediate and clear: the laser beam no longer landed on the same point on the ruler.
Students discovered that the path of light changes when it enters water. Instead of continuing in a straight line, the beam bends at the boundary between air and water.
This phenomenon is known as refraction, and it occurs because light travels at different speeds in different materials.
Understanding refraction helps explain many everyday phenomena, such as:
- why objects appear bent or displaced in water,
- how eyeglasses correct vision,
- and how cameras and microscopes work.
This investigation gave our Year 9 students another opportunity to experience physics as scientists do, through careful observation, hands-on experimentation, and thoughtful explanation.
