Why does a stick partly immersed in water appear to be broken at the junction of water and air?

CONCEPT:

• Refraction of Light: The bending of the ray of light passing from one medium to the other medium is called refraction.

• The refraction of light takes place on going from one medium to another because the speed of light is different in the two media.
• The greater the difference in the speeds of light in the two media, the greater will be the amount of refraction.
• A medium in which the speed of light is more is known as an optically rarer medium and a medium in which the speed of light is less is known as an optically denser medium.

EXPLANATION:

• Stick immersed in water appears bent due to the phenomenon of Refraction of light.
• When we immerse a stick in water, the ray of light passes through the rarer medium to denser medium. They bend towards the normal.
• This phenomenon occurs due to the Refraction of light.