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ARAVIND113122
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Why does light slow down when entering a denser medium? And why does it bend when it slows down?
When light travels through a medium, it interacts with the atoms and molecules present in that medium. These interactions cause the light to be absorbed and re-emitted, which slows down its overall speed.
The higher the density of a medium, the more atoms and molecules present for the light to interact with. This results in a higher number of interactions, causing the light to slow down even more.
No, the color of light does not affect its speed in denser media. All colors of light will slow down at the same rate when passing through a medium with a certain density.
Yes, the speed of light is always slower in denser media compared to a vacuum. This is because there are no atoms or molecules in a vacuum for the light to interact with, so it can travel at its maximum speed.
The refractive index of a medium is a measure of how much the speed of light slows down when passing through that medium. The higher the refractive index, the more the light will slow down and bend as it travels through the medium.