Question

The speed of light in a material is 1.74 x 108 m's. What is the index of refraction of this material?

Answer 1

The index of refraction of this material is 1.7241

Step-by-step explanation:

Recall that the index of refraction (n) of a medium is defined as the quotient between the speed of light in vacuum divided the speed of light in the medium whose index of refraction is being calculated. In mathematical terms:

`n=(c)/(v)`

Therefore, in our case, since we know the speed of light in the medium (
`v=1.74\,\,10^8\,\,m/s`) and the speed of light in vacuum (
`c=3\,\,10^8\,\,m/s`), we can estimate the index of refraction of the medium:

`n=(c)/(v) \\n=(3\,\,10^8)/(1.74\,\,10^8) \\n=1.7241`