Refractive index

Have you ever played with a toy that makes things look bigger or smaller when you look through it? That toy is kind of like what happens when light goes through different materials.

When light travels through a material, it can bend or change direction. This happens because the material has a property called the refractive index, which tells us how much the light will bend.

The refractive index is like a special number that each material has, and it affects how much the light changes direction when it goes through it. So, when light goes through a material with a higher refractive index, it will bend more compared to when it goes through a material with a lower refractive index.

This is why some materials are used to make lenses for glasses or magnifying glasses. These materials have a high enough refractive index that they can bend the light in a way that helps you see things better, like making small words look bigger or faraway things look closer.

So, the refractive index is just a fancy way of talking about how much the light will bend when it goes through different materials. It's like a special property each material has and can be used to help us see things better with glasses or magnifying glasses.