Question

(a) One medium is air, in which light has a speed of 3.00 × 108 m/s. The other medium is ice, in which light has a speed of 2.29 × 108 m/s. Use this information to identify medium A and medium B. Explain. (b) Does it matter in which direction the light beam is travelling? Explain.

Answer 1

Explanation:

We know that

Refractive index of a medium

n

=

Velocity of light in Vacuum

c

Velocity of light in medium

Inserting given value and taking

c

=

3

×

10

8

m

s

−

1

, we get

Refractive index of ice

n

=

3

×

10

8

2.29

×

10

8

⇒

n

=

1.31