Justify the given statement refractive index is the measure of optical density
Answers
Explanation:
The refractive index is a measurement of optical density. A medium with a low optical density, would have also a low refractive index. For example air, having a low optical density has a refractive index of 1.0003, whereas water, with a higher optical density, has a higher refractive index of 1.333.
Explanation:
Refractive index is defined as
The ratio of speed of light in vacuum to its speed in a specific medium.
The speed of light in a medium depends on the properties of the medium. In electromagnetic waves, the speed is dependent on the optical density of the medium. Optical density is the tendency of the atoms in a material to restore the absorbed electromagnetic energy. The more optically dense material is, the slower the speed of light. One such indicator of the optical density of a medium is the refractive index.
Refractive Index Formula
Refractive index is dimensionless. It is a number that indicates the number of times slower than a light wave would be in the material than it is in a vacuum. Refractive index, represented by symbol n, is the velocity of light in vacuum divided by the velocity of light in a medium. The formula of the refractive index is as follows:
n=\frac{c}{v}
Where,
n is the refractive indexc is the velocity of light in a vacuum ( 3 × 108 m/s)v is the velocity of light in a substance
The vacuum has a refractive index of 1. The refractive index of other materials can be calculated from the above equation. Higher the refractive index, higher the optical density and slower is the speed of light. The table below lists the refractive index of different media.