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Refractive index is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of light in given media.

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Refractive index is a measure of how much light is bent, or refracted, when entering a material. It depends on factors such as the material's density, composition, and atomic structure, as well as the wavelength of the light passing through the material. A higher refractive index indicates a greater bending of light.

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Q: What do you mean by refractive index and what are factor in which it depends?
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What does 'at 25C the refractive index of water is 1.333' mean?

This means that at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, the refractive index of water is 1.333. The refractive index is a measure of how much light bends when passing through a medium, and a higher refractive index indicates a higher bending effect.


What do you mean by refractive index of blue light?

The refractive index of blue light refers to how much the speed of blue light is reduced when it enters a material, compared to its speed in a vacuum. It is a measure of how much the blue light bends or changes direction as it passes from one medium to another, such as air to water or air to glass.


Is it possible to have a refractive index less than one?

No, the refractive index of a material is always greater than or equal to 1. If it were less than 1, it would imply that light is traveling faster in that medium than in a vacuum, which is not physically possible according to the laws of physics.


What does mu mean in physics?

In physics, the symbol "μ" can represent different physical quantities depending on the context. Commonly, it is used to denote coefficients of friction, magnetic permeability, and refractive index. The specific meaning can be determined based on the related equations and variables in the given formula or problem.


What is magnitude of 12 N if distance is reduced by factor of 2?

It depends on the situation. If you mean the gravitational force, or the electrical force, between two objects, reducing the distance by a factor of 2 will increase the force by a factor of 4.

Related questions

Differences between relative refractive index and absoulate refractive index?

Refractive Index(i) Refractive index of a medium is that characteristic which decides speed of light in it.(ii) It is a scalar, unit less and dimensionless quantity.(iii) Absolute refractive index :When light travels from vacuum to any transparent medium then refractive index of medium w.r.t. vacuum is called it's absolute refractive index i.e. vacuumµmedium = c/vAbsolute refractive indices for glass, water and diamond are respectively µg = 3/2 = 1.5, µw = 4/3 = 1.33 and µD = 12/5 = 2.4(iv) Relative refractive index :When light travels from medium (1) to medium (2) then refractive index of medium (2) w.r.t. medium (1) is called it's relative refractive index i.e. 1µ2 = µ2/µ1 = v1/v2 (where v1 and v2 are the speed of light in medium 1 and 2 respectively).(v) When we say refractive index we mean absolute refractive index.(vi) The minimum value of absolute refractive index is 1. For air it is very near to 1. ( 1.003)


What does 'at 25C the refractive index of water is 1.333' mean?

This means that at a temperature of 25 degrees Celsius, the refractive index of water is 1.333. The refractive index is a measure of how much light bends when passing through a medium, and a higher refractive index indicates a higher bending effect.


What chemical has a refractive index closest to that of a diamond?

I'm assuming you mean what material has the closest refractive index to diamond? Cubic Zirconia is quite close (2.2 vs. diamonds 2.42), and moissanite or silicon carbide as well (2.65).


Do high refractive neccessarily mean high molecular mass?

No, high refractive index does not necessarily mean high molecular mass. Refractive index is a measure of how much a material bends light, which can be influenced by factors like the electronic structure and density of the material, in addition to molecular mass.


What does the term density and refractive index mean?

Density refers to how much mass is contained in a given volume of a substance, while refractive index is a measure of how light is bent or refracted as it passes through a material. Density is expressed in units such as grams per cubic centimeter, and refractive index is a dimensionless quantity typically denoted by the symbol "n".


Which is the largest refractive index material that can be used for optical communication and what is its refractive index?

It depends on what you mean by "for optical communication", but the standard Optical fibers that route light around have an index of 1.4, which is modest. But for on-chip electronics, Silicon or Gallium Arsenide are typically used, which have indices of 3.96, and 3.927 respectively. These values are about the largest one can find for any materials that are also low-loss for light. Some researchers are looking into the field of 'plasmonics' which incorporates metals, which have much higher refractive indices, but metals are also very lossy, so most of these attempts are still in the research phase.


What do you mean by refractive index of blue light?

The refractive index of blue light refers to how much the speed of blue light is reduced when it enters a material, compared to its speed in a vacuum. It is a measure of how much the blue light bends or changes direction as it passes from one medium to another, such as air to water or air to glass.


Which unit of measure would be best for measuring glasses?

The answer depends on what kinds of glasses: spectacles or ones for drinking from. Second, the answer depends on which aspect you wish to measure: mass, volume, height, refractive index, and so on.


What does refractive index mean?

The amount of refraction depends on the difference in density between two mediums. So, the amount of refraction a material has, or it's refraction index, is the amount light will bend as it goes from medium into another medium. For instance, Vacuum is considered to have a refraction index of 1 and all other materials being denser than vacuum will naturally have a larger refraction index, they bend light more. So, it simply means that- since the object has a high density it will slow down light by a greater amount.


Is it possible to have a refractive index less than one?

No, the refractive index of a material is always greater than or equal to 1. If it were less than 1, it would imply that light is traveling faster in that medium than in a vacuum, which is not physically possible according to the laws of physics.


Is it possible to have internal reflection of light incident from air to glass?

If you mean that the light is in the glass, and the air is on the "outside", then yes. The other way it isn't possible; for total internal reflection, the material through which light travels must needs have a higher refractive index.


What is body index?

I think you mean Body Mass Index...?