What is the bending of waves due to a change in speed called?

What is the bending of waves due to a change in speed called?

Answer:

Refraction is the bending of waves because of a speed modification.

Refraction is the change in direction of the wave as it moves from one medium to another that has different characters. This effect is discussed mostly in terms of light waves, but it applies to all the waves such as sound and water waves. When a wave penetrates a new material at an angle, the portion of the wave, which starts interacting with this new material first of all, alters speed while the rest of the wave continues thereby deforming the wavefront. These are the factors: the difference in wave speed of the two media and the angle of incidence determines the degree of bending. Refraction accounts for many phenomena observed in day-to-day life for instance the partial disappearance of a straw placed in a glass of water, and the formation of a mirage. Optics is one of the medical courses where geometry plays a very important role in designing lenses, prisms and optical instruments.