Optical Fiber Tutorial - Optic Fiber - Communication Fiber – Fosco

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Basic Terms Refraction of light As a light ray passes from one transparent medium to another, it changes direction; this phenomenon is called refraction of light. How much that light ray changes its direction depends on the refractive index of the mediums. Refractive Index Refractive index is the speed of light in a vacuum (abbreviated c, c=299,792.458km/second) divided by the speed of light in a material (abbreviated v). Refractive index measures how much a material refracts light. Refractive index of a material, abbreviated as n, is defined as n=c/v Snell’s Law In 1621, a Dutch physicist named Willebrord Snell derived the relationship between the different angles of light as it passes from one transparent medium to another. When light passes from one transparent material to another, it bends according to Snell's law which is defined as: n1sin(θ1) = n2sin(θ2) where