If the refractive index of a medium is greater than 1, what happens to the speed
Practice Questions
Q1
If the refractive index of a medium is greater than 1, what happens to the speed of light in that medium?
It increases
It decreases
It remains the same
It becomes infinite
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
If the refractive index of a medium is greater than 1, what happens to the speed of light in that medium?
Correct Answer: Speed of light decreases.
Step 1: Understand that the speed of light in a vacuum is the fastest speed possible, denoted as 'c'.
Step 2: Know that when light travels through different materials (mediums), its speed can change.
Step 3: Learn about the refractive index, denoted as 'n'. It is a number that tells us how much the speed of light decreases in a medium compared to a vacuum.
Step 4: If the refractive index 'n' is greater than 1 (n > 1), it means that light travels slower in that medium than in a vacuum.
Step 5: Use the formula v = c/n to find the speed of light in the medium, where 'v' is the speed of light in the medium.
Step 6: Since 'n' is greater than 1, when you divide 'c' by a number greater than 1, the result 'v' will be less than 'c'.
Step 7: Conclude that if the refractive index is greater than 1, the speed of light in that medium decreases.
Refractive Index – The refractive index (n) of a medium indicates how much the speed of light is reduced compared to its speed in a vacuum (c).
Speed of Light in Medium – The formula v = c/n shows that as the refractive index increases (n > 1), the speed of light (v) in that medium decreases.
