Question

What is the index of refraction

Answer 1

Answer:

The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the material it is passing through

Explanation:

• Index of refraction also called refractive index is the ratio of the sine of angle of incidence to the sine of angle of refraction, this is according to the Snell's Law.
• The value of index of refraction may be calculated from the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in a second medium of a greater density.
• Therefore, refractive index refers to the speed of light in a vacuum divided by the speed of light in the medium.

Answer 2

Answer: The correct answer is "the ratio of the speed of the light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the material through which it is passing".

Explanation:

The expression for the refractive index is as follows:

$R.I= \frac{c}{v}$

Here,  R.I is the refractive index, c is the velocity of the light in vacuum and v is the velocity of light in medium.

Refractive index: It is defined as the ratio of the velocity of light rays travelling in a vacuum to the velocity of light rays travelling in a specific medium or the ratio of the speed of the light in a vacuum to the speed of light in the material through which it is passing. It describes how the fast light travels through the material.

It is dimensionless quantity. It measures the bending of a light when it passes from one medium to another.

Therefore, the correct option is first statement from the given options.