How does the index of refraction relate to speed of

Bernard Mora

Bernard Mora

Answered question

2022-05-13

How does the index of refraction relate to speed of light?

Answer & Explanation

Cara Cannon

Cara Cannon

Beginner2022-05-14Added 14 answers

The refractive index of a pair of media is defined as,
μ 21 = v 1 v 2 , where v 1 and v 2 are the velocities of light in initial and final mediums respectively.
It is read as refractive index of medium 2 with respect to 1.
Similarly, refractive index of a medium can be obtained with replacing v 1 with c which is equal to the speed of light in vacuum.
Thus refractive index of a medium with speed v is given as,
μ = c v

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