Question

how is the refractive index of medium related to speed of light? obtain an expression of refractive index of a medium with respect to another in term of speed of light in these two media ?

Answer 1

Refractive index compares the speed of light in a particular medium with the speed of light in vaccum.

It measures the optical density of a medium.

It should not be confused with the mass density of the medium.

For turpentile oil, it's mass density is less than water but optical density is more than that of water.

Now, moving on to your question, the relation between refractive index and speed of light:

refractive index (mu) = c (speed of light in vaccum) / v(speed of light in any medium)

for vaccum, refractive index = 1

This relation is also used in Snell's law..

Let the refractive index of medium 1 be u1...and the speed of light in medium1 be v1.

Therefore, u1 = c / v1 ----------equation1.

Similarly,

Let the refractive index of medium2 be u2 ...and the speed of light in medium 2 be v2..

Therefore, u2 = c / v2-----------equation2

Now,

⇒ u1 sin i = u2 sin r

⇒ sin i / sin r = u2 / u1     (Using equation 1 and 2....)

⇒ sin i / sin r = c / v2 × v1 / c

⇒ sin i / sin r = v1 / v2

HOPE IT HELPS..

Answer 2

Let v1 be the speed of light in medium 1 and v2 be the speed of light in medium 2. The refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 is given by the ratio of the speed of light in medium 1 and the speed of light in medium 2. This is usually represented by the symbol n21.

$<b>hope it helps$ ❤️✌️