I recently heard that Snell's Law is perfect in nature. Are there more such things which are perfect from the aspects of physics?
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6perfect in nature What does that mean? – G. Smith Mar 18 '21 at 02:28
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Means all is perfect, not a single inaccuracy. – Prof. Meow Mar 18 '21 at 02:37
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Nothing in nature is perfect ... – Mozibur Ullah Mar 18 '21 at 04:05
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I don’t see how Snell’s law can be “perfect” i.e. totally accurate in all circumstances. I expect if we look at optical scenarios where interference is important (so where distances between boundaries are of the same magnitude as the wavelength of the light) then Snell’s Law will break down.
Like all other “laws” in physics, Snell’s law is based on a mathematical model of reality which makes various approximations and assumptions. It only gives accurate results in circumstances where those approximations and assumptions hold true. In other scenarios, our models can give results that are inaccurate, or even physically impossible.
Even our two most fundamental and most accurate models of reality - general relativity and quantum mechanics - break down when we try to model what happens at the centre of a black hole, for example.
gandalf61
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1@Prof.Meow Yes. Nothing in physics (or,indeed, any other field of science) is perfect. – gandalf61 Mar 18 '21 at 04:01