refractive index

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MD

Cards (4)

  • The refractive index of a material is a measure of the speed of light as it passes through that material, compared to the speed of light as it passes through a vacuum.
  • Materials through which light travels more slowly, for example diamond, have a higher refractive index (e.g. diamond has a refractive index of 2.4).
     Materials through which light travels more quickly, for example water, have a lower refractive index (e.g. ice has a refractive index of 1.3.
  • The medium with the lowest refractive index is a vacuum, as light travels fastest in a vacuum. 
    A vacuum has a refractive index of 1.
  • n=c/v

    refractive index equation