Consider sunlight entering the Earth's atmosphere at sunrise and sunset- that is, at a 90° incident angle. Taking the boundary between nearly empty space and the atmosphere to be sudden, calculate the angle of refraction for sunlight. This lengthens the time the Sun appears to be above the horizon, both at sunrise and sunset. Now construct a problem in which you determine the angle of refraction for different models of the atmosphere, such as various layers of varying density. Your instructor may wish to guide you on the level of complexity to consider and on how the index of refraction varies with air density.

College Physics
11th Edition
ISBN:9781305952300
Author:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
Publisher:Raymond A. Serway, Chris Vuille
Chapter1: Units, Trigonometry. And Vectors
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 1CQ: Estimate the order of magnitude of the length, in meters, of each of the following; (a) a mouse, (b)...
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Consider sunlight entering the Earth's atmosphere at sunrise and sunset-
that is, at a 90° incident angle. Taking the boundary between nearly empty
space and the atmosphere to be sudden, calculate the angle of refraction
for sunlight. This lengthens the time the Sun appears to be above the
horizon, both at sunrise and sunset. Now construct a problem in which you
determine the angle of refraction for different models of the atmosphere,
such as various layers of varying density. Your instructor may wish to guide
you on the level of complexity to consider and on how the index of
refraction varies with air density.

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