Refraction-Faster then a vacuum

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on an experiment measuring the refraction of light through a semicircular piece of glass. The user initially calculated the index of refraction using the slope of the graph plotting sin(i) against sin(r), resulting in a slope of approximately 0.6. This led to confusion regarding the relationship between the index of refraction (n), the speed of light in a vacuum (c), and the speed of light in the medium (v). The user later corrected their approach by switching the axes of the graph, indicating that sin(r) should be plotted as the x-axis and sin(i) as the y-axis for accurate results.

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Refraction--Faster then a vacuum!

I was given an experiment to mesaure the refraction of light thgouh this semisircle piece of glass, (shining the light in the middle of the flat part). I measured several different angles of incidence and their corresponding angles of refraction.

When i graphed sin(i) to sin(r) the slope came to around 0.6, which is the index of refraction (medium 2)right? So using the equation n=c/v, my v would become greater then c, which is impossible. My slope would have to be greater then 1 for this to work.

Any ideas what i did wrong, or calculated.
 
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what do these numbers mean: n=c/v.

Is it index of refraction = speed of light / ?
 
n is the refractuve index of the medium, c is the speed of light in a vacuum, and v is the speed of light in the other medium.

nevermind about the question, i plotted sin(i) as x and sin(r) as y they should have been the other way around. :biggrin:
 
Last edited:

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