Refraction-Faster then a vacuum

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The discussion centers on an experiment measuring the refraction of light through a semicircular piece of glass. The user initially graphed sin(i) against sin(r), resulting in a slope of approximately 0.6, which they incorrectly interpreted as the index of refraction. They realized that the axes were mistakenly plotted, which led to confusion about the relationship between the index of refraction and the speed of light. The correct understanding is that the refractive index (n) is calculated using the formula n = c/v, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and v is the speed in the medium. The user corrected their approach, indicating that the plotting error was the source of their initial misunderstanding.
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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 differnt 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:
 
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