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Old 18-05-2011, 04:53 PM
Keshdogga (Casey)
Casey Roff

Keshdogga is offline
 
Join Date: Oct 2010
Location: Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Posts: 91
Yes guys thanks for the responces =] But I'm still curious as to what the interaction is between light and the particles of the medium that causes it to bend at a predictable angle.

So we can obviously agree that the medium does not effect the speed of the light, light still always travels at c, it's only its apparent decrease in velocity. But when i try to imagine why the photon bends like a car turns one direction when it hits water i hit a dead end. the car does this because one side is going slower than the other not because the whole car has slowed and turned. Maybe this isn't an accurate example or i'm interpreting it wrong??

This is my unfulfilled understanding with the gaps

So the photon (singular) interacts with the molecules (i still don't know how (absorbed by electrons and re-emitted giving the appearence of 'bouncing' from atom to atom??)) in such a way that it appears to bend predictably. Should the light not just scatter if this is true?
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