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The ratio of the speed of light in air to the speed of light in glass is about 1.5. The ratio of the speed of light in water to the speed of light in glass is about 1.14. Do you expect the light to refract more when moving from air to glass or water to glass? Explain.

User Jian Guo
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Answer:

The speed of light is slower in glass and water than in air, meaning that light will bend, or refract, as it passes through these materials. The amount of refraction that occurs is determined by the angle at which the light enters the material, as well as the ratio of the speeds of light in the two materials.

The refractive index of a material is the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum or air to the speed of light in that material. Higher refractive indices mean that light travels more slowly in the material, and therefore bends more as it passes through.

Since the ratio of the speed of light in air to the speed of light in glass is greater than the ratio of the speed of light in water to the speed of light in glass, this means that the refractive index of glass is higher than that of water. Therefore, light will refract more when moving from water to glass than when moving from air to glass.

User Ankit Singhania
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Answer:The amount of refraction (bending) of light at a boundary between two media depends on the difference in their refractive indices, which is a measure of how much the speed of light changes as it moves from one medium to another. The refractive index of a medium is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the medium.

In this case, we are given that the ratio of the speed of light in air to the speed of light in glass is about 1.5, and the ratio of the speed of light in water to the speed of light in glass is about 1.14. This means that the refractive index of glass is higher than that of air or water.

When light travels from a medium with a lower refractive index to a medium with a higher refractive index, it bends towards the normal (an imaginary line perpendicular to the surface of the boundary). Conversely, when light travels from a medium with a higher refractive index to a medium with a lower refractive index, it bends away from the normal.

Therefore, we would expect light to refract more (i.e. bend more) when moving from water to glass than when moving from air to glass, since the difference in refractive indices between water and glass is greater than the difference between air and glass.

Step-by-step explanation:

User Rpatel
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