GRAND RAPIDS — Every day we see and use light for numerous daily functions, but did you know you can actually bend light? Its called refraction and our experiment today is going to show you how its done! So here is what you need.
- Piece of paper
- Markers
- Clear glass
- Water
Lets get started!
Step 1: Take the sheet of paper and draw two arrows on top of each other. Each arrow should be a different color and each going the opposite way from one another.
Step 2: Fill up glass with water
Step 3: Slowly lower the piece of paper behind the glass of water
Step 4: Watch what happens to the arrows!
You are witnessing light bending right before your eyes! We call this refraction! Refraction happens when light travels from one medium to another. In this experiment the light traveled from the air through the water in our glass and then back out of the water through the air before eventually reaching your eyes.
This shows the light bending one time when it traveled through the water in the glass and bending then a second time traveling out of the water back to the air. As the result of this bending our arrow picture crosses paths with that light and the image looks to flip left and right.
Pretty cool, right? Bending light showing off refraction! Send our meteorologist Candace Monacelli your pictures doing this experiments at home! She will feature future meteorologists on my Facebook page daily!
