---
title: "Why does a pencil look bent in water?"  
description: "Why does a pencil look bent in water?"  
author: "Erick Wilsom"  
published: 2023-10-19  
updated: 2023-10-21  
canonical: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/103915/why-does-a-pencil-look-bent-in-water  
category: "science"  
tags: ["science"]  
reading_time: 2 minutes  

---

# Why does a pencil look bent in water?



## Answers

### Answer by Saumya Mishra

**This is because of an optical [effect](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/81396/corona-effect-on-new-york-marathon) called refraction, where a pencil seems to be bent when put into water.**

**Light bends as it moves from one optically dense medium to another; this phenomenon is called refraction.**

**[Transition](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/94090/a-material-is-dimensionally-stable-at-room-temperature-if-its-glass-transition-temperature-tg-is) is from air to water in this [context](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/81010/nation-and-regionalism-getting-the-context-theme) and as a denser medium it [results](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/13134/what-does-it-take-to-obtain-impeccable-laser-cutting-results) into bending of light.**

**The [speed of light](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/103894/what-is-the-speed-of-light) is higher in air compared to** [**water**](https://www.mindstick.com/blog/301572/a-day-without-water) **hence when** [**light**](https://www.mindstick.com/articles/43903/gravity-light) **enters water, it slows down since the two mediums do not mix uniformly.**

**The change in speed results in light diverting or changing its direction.**

**This bending occurs according to Snell’s Law which involves the refractive indices of the two [media](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/80728/jamia-milia-islamia-the-only-public-university-for-media-students) and the angles of incidence.**

Your [brain](https://yourviews.mindstick.com/view/85330/can-brain-chips-replace-the-human-brain) will assume the light rays are straight when you see a pencil partially placed under water. The rays of light coming from the submerged tip of a pencil bend when they leave the water towards air. This makes submerged tip seem to be in an off-centered location. The resultant effect appears as if the pencil is broken or bent in a funny way at the edge of the [water body](https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/36148/how-do-you-know-if-a-water-body-lake-pond-stream-river-reservoir-well-is-safe-to-swim).


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Original Source: https://answers.mindstick.com/qa/103915/why-does-a-pencil-look-bent-in-water

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