Practice question
Question
What is the speed of light in a medium if its refractive index is 1.2 and the speed in vacuum is \( 3.0
\times 10^8 \, \text{m/s} \)?
Explanation
**Polarization requires transverse waves** because only transverse can have orientation perpendicular to propagation, longitudinal cannot be polarized, wave theory requires light transverse to explain polarization, polaroids transmit only component along pass-axis, unpolarized has random transverse orientations, after polaroid polarized. Speed in a medium v = (c/n) . Given n = 1.2 , c = 3.0 × 10⁸ m/s , v = (3.0 × 10⁸/1.2) = 2.5 × 10⁸ m/s . Using Δ = d sinθ, y = n λ D/d, a sinθ = n λ, I = I₀ cos²θ, n = c/v, sinC = 1/n, λ' = λ/n and A = 2a cos(φ/2), calculation gives
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