C11.8 Refractive Index

All waves refract - the speed in different media changes, wavelength changes, frequency stays same. When wave slows down in denser media, refracts towards the normal (Vice-versa)

Refractive index - n
- Property of a material
- Tells us what factor of light slows down in material compared to vacuum
- Equation for n: n=c/v, where c is speed of light in vacuum, and v is speed of light in medium.
- n is always bigger than or equal to one because v will never be greater than c
- Values of n: 1 in vacuum, close to one is air, 1.33 in water, 1.52 in crown glass, 2.42 in diamond
- The bigger than n of a material, the greater the speed changes, and greater refraction towards normal.
- Snell’s Law: n1sin(𝜃)1 = n2sin(θ)2