Light Refraction and Reflection near a Black Hole

Abstract

In this paper, we have calculated the angle of refraction that light travels approaching to the strong gravitational field like a black hole by combining the general relativity and the classical Snell’s law, assuming that the gravitational field can act as a non-vacuum filled with medium of some coefficients. We have found that the value of refracted angle exactly coincides with the value from the Einstein’s relativity theory in a weak gravitational field. From this optical interpretation of the traveling of light near a black hole, we have sug-gested that there might have the reflection phenomenon and investigated that the total reflection occurs at the surface of a black hole. Regardless this might cause controversy, we can explain the recent observation that light reflects from a black hole.