Which factor decided the speed of light in the medium
Answers
Answered by
0
Answer:
1) Light travels at an approximate Speed of 186,282.397 miles per second ONLY in a Vacuum. The Speed of Light can vary/change with respect to the Refraction Index of the Medium through which it is passing/travelling. The higher the index of refraction is, the slower the speed of light is.
Answered by
2
, if the light is propagating through matter, the actual wavelength of the light can be smaller, with lambda=lambda0/n, where n the refractive index of the medium. For the previous example, if we assume water (n~1.3), we have a wavelength in the medium of lambda ~ 400 nm. Although this wavelength corresponds to violet in vacuum, this is still a green laser with the same frequency f=576 THz.
Once this is clarified, something important to add is distinguish between group velocity and phase velocity.
Similar questions