Welcome to Fermat's Pond. Like a real pond, Fermat's Pond is somewhat complicated. When you look at the surface of a real pond you often see two images -- a reflected image from above the water's surface and a refracted image from below the water's surface. The FermatsPond mathlet simulates both reflection and refraction.

This applet is part of the Lite Applet Collection. Like the other applets in this collection, it is designed to be used in a variety of ways by instructors who want to add interactive elements to their Web pages without knowing Java. As with all Lite Applets this one may be used freely as long as the source is cited.

Open FermatsPond  in a new window.

Frank Wattenberg is in the Mathematical Sciences Department at the U.S. Military Academy. For full instructions on how to use, adapt, and/or download the applet for your own use, click here.