The figure--> shows a ray of ordinary (nonpolarized) light of a given wavelength incident on a reflecting surface of a transparent medium (e.g., water or glass). Waves vibrating in the plane of the surface are indicated by short lines crossing the ray, and those vibrating at right angles to the surface, by dots. The plane of incidence (AON) is the plane that contains the incident ray and the normal (ON, a line perpendicular to the surface) to the plane of the surface such that they intersect at the surface. Most of the waves of the incident ray will be transmitted across the boundary (the surface of the water or glass) as a refracted ray making an angle r with the normal, the rest being reflected. For a specific angle of incidence (p), called the polarizing angle, all reflected waves will vibrate perpendicular to the plane of incidence (i.e., to the surface), and the reflected ray and the refracted ray will be separated by 90°. Brewster's law also states that the tangent of the angle of polarization, p, for a wavelength of light passing from one substance to another is equal to the ratio of the refractive (refractive index) indices, n₁ and n₂, of the two contacting mediums: tanp=n₂/n₁.