During refraction speed of light and wavelength change. Why frequency doesn't change. Pls answer in simple words.
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3Does this answer your question? Why doesn't the frequency of light change during refraction? – John Rennie Nov 05 '21 at 08:47
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Thankyou , yes it does – Sidhi Nov 21 '21 at 11:30
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Light originates from a specific source, and the frequency of light emitted depends only on the characteristics of the source (how frequently the source pulsates and can send out light waves).
So the process of refraction goes something like this: let's say a torch can emit light only at the frequency of 5 Hz, this light ray travels to a glass slab, gets refracted and then the frequency remains constant = 5Hz, but the speed of light in the medium decreases.
Now, from v = fλ if the speed decreases then with frequency remaining constant, wavelength must also decrease.
Dhruv Kaushik
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Thankyou that was helpful and I liked that you used wave equation in your explanation , I was connecting dots the same way. – Sidhi Nov 05 '21 at 16:29
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1I do not see how this is a proof. from $c=f\lambda$ why don't we change instead $f$ in the medium? You were not inside the medium measuring the actual frequency or wavelength, why did you decide that the one changing should be wavelength and not frequency? (I know that frequency of the dipoles is the same, but your explanation jumps to the assumption that it is wavelength that needs to change in a medium where you made no measurements) – José Andrade Nov 06 '21 at 17:33