Question

Diamond has a high index of refraction at about 2.4, which helps account for its sparkle. How fast does light travel through a dia- mond? The speed of light in a vacuum is 3 × 108 m/s. Answer in units of m/s.

Answer 1

Answer:

$1.25 \cdot 10^8 m/s$

Explanation:

The speed of light through a medium is given by:

$v=\frac{c}{n}$

where

$c = 3 \cdot 10^8 m/s$ is the speed of light through vacuum

n is the index of refraction of the material

In this case, diamond has a refractive index of n = 2.4, so the speed of light in diamond is

$v=\frac{3\cdot 10^8 m/s}{2.4}=1.25\cdot 10^8 m/s$