manual

38
The glass of water is behaving just like a lens because it is
bending light. The water lens inverts the image.
water
air
refracted ray
(diverted)
The empty cup gives you a realistic
picture, like looking through glass.
When you add water, the light rays
coming from the word “ROME” get
refracted as they travel through the
water to your eyes.
REFRACTION is the change in direction of a light ray when it passes from
one medium (e.g. water) to another (e.g. air). In this situation the image is
reversed because the glass with water works like a lens.
The light rays bend as they enter the water cup and bend again when they
leave the water. The light ray at the top ends up on the bottom and the
light ray that started at the bottom ends up on top; so, the whole image is
inverted!
glass without water
glass with water