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You still have to be careful as the refractive index is only applicable to the light case. I'd reword the caption for Snell's law to generalise it by omitting the refractive index, or moving to the end a "In the case of light...". Either of the current proposed captions would work fine as is in
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states it is applicable to "light or other waves". Granted both articles are poorly referenced, but if I remember correctly from college physics, Snell's Law and index of refraction are not limited to light. And if it is (and proven), using the term
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That's the most used case, and there is no need to be fully general. As long as the reader is given a simple and clear explanation, that should be good enough even if it is not the most all-encompassing.
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Actually I agree with Noodle Snacks. When I first read the caption, "speed of light" irked me because it makes the image sound like it is only applicable to light waves. This could leave some
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is applicible to just about any type of wave who's velocity is dependent on the medium the wave travels through. As to the inclusion of the red line in the caption, I propose this as caption:
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Seriously, it might be a good idea with some of these animations to include a shutoff option for people who suffer from epilepsy, migraines, or other neurological conditions.
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If it is somehow possible to incorporate the fact that the wavefronts in the lower medium are hyperbolic rather than spherical, I'm all for it.
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I feel as if the red dotted line should also be mentioned in the caption, but I don't know how to incorporate it. I also added the image to
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but I don't see why the caption need be restricted to refractive indicies and light since Snell's law can be applied to other waves too.
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64:) source. It's at least as elegant and informative as a prior winner: Pi-unrolled-720.gif. It's also made by a Wikipedian with many
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since I also don't remember a limitation set to the visible spectrum. ~
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clearly states that it is applicable to sound waves as well.
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This file is not only public domain; it's also open (
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