Question

The speed of light in a certain transparent material is 65.8% of the speed of light in vacuum. What is the index of refraction of the material?Can you identify the material?a.)crown glassb.)water c.)vacuumd.)diamonde.)air

Answer 1

• n = 1.52

,

• Crown glass

Step-by-step explanation

First, we have to look up the refractive indices of these substances:

• crown glass: 1.52

,

• water: 1.333

,

• vacuum: 1

,

• diamond: 1.417

,

• air: 1.0003

The speed of light in a medium with a refractive index n is given by,

`v=(c)/(n)`

Where c is the speed of light in vacuum.

In this problem, the speed of light in s certain material is 65.8% of the speed of light in vacuum, so we have,

`0.658c=(c)/(n)`

Solving for n,

`n=(c)/(0.658c)=(1)/(0.658)\approx1.52`

Hence, the refractive index of the material is 1.52, which means that the material is crown glass.