Many factors play a role in the dispersion of various materials including the elemental and molecular composition. Several inorganic solids having unusually high dispersions are chromates, dichromates, cyanides, vanadates, and halide complexes. Organic substituents can also contribute to high dispersion as evidenced by the extremely high dispersion values found with materials having a cinnamyl moiety. For a virtual demonstration of light refraction, please visit our interactive Java tutorial that explores the effect of incident angle and wavelength on refraction of light when it passes into a medium of greater refractive index. Adjust the incident angle and color of the light wave and observe the effect these changes have on refraction.
Refraction of light is important in the construction and physics of lenses.
The relative position of the object with respect to the front focal point of the lens determines how the object is imaged. If the object is beyond twice the length of the focal point, then it appears smaller and inverted and must be imaged by an additional lens in order to magnify the size. However, when the image is closer to the lens than the focal point, the image appears upright and larger, as can be easily demonstrated with a simple magnifying glass. For a demonstration of refraction and imaging by lenses, check our our interactive Java tutorials on convex , concave and infinitely configurable lenses. Interactive Java Tutorial Image Magnification Explore how the image of a giraffe is magnified by refraction of light waves passing through a simple thin bi-convex lens.