The index of refraction for water is 1.33 and for glass it is 1.52. What happens to the speed of light when light travels from water into glass?
2 Answers
The speed of light changes according to the index of refraction of the medium:
Explanation:
In vacuum the speed of light is
We expect that in glass will be even smaller:
We can see a progressive reduction of speed as light passes into media with higher index of refraction.
The speed of light decreases.
Explanation:
The speed of light in a medium is inversely proportional to the refractive index of the medium.
In water, the speed of light is
In glass, the speed of light is