- Light rays change direction when passing from one medium to another with a different density, known as refraction. - Snell's law states that the ratio of sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction is a constant equal to the refractive index. - The refractive index is a ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in a medium, and determines how much light will bend. Materials with a higher refractive index have a greater bending effect.