Which color of light, red or blue, travels faster ...

Question

Which color of light, red or blue, travels faster in crown glass?a) blue, only if the glass is thinb) bluec) red d) depends on the index of refractione) their speeds are the same

Patrick Ford · Accepted Answer

Velocity:v=fλWavelength in a medium:λ=λ0ηFrequency is not affected by a change of medium because it is constant for a given color of light.[readmore]The visible spectrum is: VIBGYOR - Violet, Indigo, Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, Red.Least Wavelength → Greatest wavelength. From the first boxed equation, we see that the speed of light is directly proportional to the wavelength of light.That is, a color with a longer wavelength will be faster compared to one with a shorter wavelength, after they enter a medium where η > 1.Red light has a larger wavelength compared to blue light. From the second boxed equation, we can see that the wavelengths of red light and blue light are reduced by the same factor (1/η) in a given medium. That means the red light will still have a longer wavelength after it enters the glass.Hence, red is faster in a medium.The correct option is c) red.

Problem: Which color of light, red or blue, travels faster in crown glass?a) blue, only if the glass is thinb) bluec) red d) depends on the index of refractione) their speeds are the same

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Problem: Which color of light, red or blue, travels faster in crown glass?a) blue, only if the glass is thinb) bluec) red d) depends on the index of refractione) their speeds are the same

FREE Expert Solution

Problem Details

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