Question

.8,Snell's law may also be derived by using Fermat's principle, which states that a ray from one fixed point to another will follow a path which minimizes the propagation time between the two points. As an analogy, consider a farmer standing in a flat, dry field who suddenly notices that his tractor is on fire in a freshly plowed neighboring field. The farmer wishes to run to his tractor in the shortest time. His running speed in the dry field is c; his running speed in the plowed field is c. Using the diagram below, determine the ratio of sin θ/sin t, that will minimize his running time to the burning tractor. Compare your answer to Snell's law. (Hint: Write the travel time between the two points in terms of L. y. A. B. G, and c. Then, find the relationship that holds when y has a value that minimizes this time.) ry.c Plowed,c

Answer 1