Subject: Physics - Optics
Subject: Physics - Optics
Subject: Physics - Classical Physics
Year: 2007
Type: Article
Title: Fermat's principle of least time in the presence of uniformly moving boundaries and media
Author: GJurchinovski, Aleksandar
Author: Aleksandar Skeparovski
Abstract: The refraction of a light ray by a homogeneous, isotropic and non-dispersive transparent material half-space in uniform rectilinear motion is investigated theoretically. The approach is an amalgamation of the original Fermat's principle and the fact that an isotropic optical medium at rest becomes optically anisotropic in a frame where the medium is moving at a constant velocity. Two cases of motion are considered: a) the material half-space is moving parallel to the interface; b) the material half-space is moving perpendicular to the interface. In each case, a detailed analysis of the obtained refraction formula is provided, and in the latter case, an intriguing backward refraction of light is noticed and thoroughly discussed. The results confirm the validity of Fermat's principle when the optical media and the boundaries between them are moving at relativistic speeds.
Publisher: IOP Publishing
Relation: European Journal of Physics
Identifier: oai:repository.ukim.mk:20.500.12188/11870
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12188/11870Identifier: 10.1088/0143-0807/28/5/017
Identifier: 28
Identifier: 5
Identifier: 933
Identifier: 951
