The path of a ray of light between two points
is the path that minimizes the travel time.
This java applet let you visualize the above statement.
There are two region with different color (one for air and one for
water).
The white dot is the light source.
The program show all possible paths for light emitted
from the point source,
reach the air/water interface then all heading towards
blue/green dot.
The real path which arrive at either blue or green dot, is the path
that has the smallest traveling time. (shown as white paths Fig.
A).
Usage¡G
Right click the mouse button to start the animation again, Click it again to pause.
Click near label air/water will switch the medium.
Right click the top left corner will show all the real paths for light emitted from point source.
(Click it again to toggle between possible paths and real paths Fig. B).
Your suggestions are highly appreciated! Please click hwang@phy03.phy.ntnu.edu.tw
Author¡GFu-Kwun Hwang, Dept. of physics, National Taiwan Normal UniversityLast modified : More physics related java applets