Question

A light beam has speed c in vacuum and speed v in a certain plastic. The index of refraction n of this plastic is

Answer 1

Answer:

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

Explanation:

Refractive Index: It is a measure to find how fast the light travels through a medium. It is ration of the speed of light in vacuum to speed of light in the medium. Speed of light is not constant and varies depending on the density of the medium.

In vacuum the speed of light is 300000 km/s and is denoted by c. When the light beam enters any medium the speed will decrease. Here it is given that the speed in plastic is v. Thus the refractive index(n) is given as:

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

It is a dimensionless no.