Linked Questions

62 votes
4 answers
33k views

Why do prisms work (why is refraction frequency dependent)?

It is well known that a prism can "split light" by separating different frequencies of light: Many sources state that the reason this happens is that the index of refraction is different for ...
Brandon Enright's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
46k views

On what refractive index of medium depends ? [duplicate]

does the refractive index of a medium depends on wavelength of light passing through it ? If yes then why ?
Murtuza Vadharia's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
5k views

Why does violet light bend the most? [duplicate]

When white light passes through a prism, refraction occurs and it splits into its seven constituent colours. If the spectrum is obtained on a screen violet light appears much more bent than red light. ...
Bhaskar Das's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
640 views

Why violet light bends the most? [duplicate]

I have read about refraction through a triangular prism,rainbow formation and other natural phenomena.They all told about the strong bending of violet light . I know that it has a shorter wavelength ...
anushka verma's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
75 views

Generally speaking, the speed of a wave depends on the medium and the wave type, so waves of the same type in the same medium attain the same speed [duplicate]

My question is, given the above statement, why electromagnetic waves attain different speeds in media other than vacuum even though they are of the same type and propagate in the same medium?
Jack's user avatar
  • 1,035
6 votes
2 answers
62k views

Why is the index of refraction different for different wavelengths? [duplicate]

The index of refraction can be written as $$n=\frac{\lambda_v}{\lambda_m}$$ where $\lambda_v$ is the wavelength in a vacuum and $\lambda_m$ is the wavelength in the medium. I’ve been told that since ...
lightweaver's user avatar
  • 1,499
2 votes
1 answer
2k views

Why does the speed of the Electromagnetic wave in the material depend on the frequency of the wave where as they are constant in vacuum (freespace)? [duplicate]

I am confused on why would the propagation speed of any EM waves at ANY frequency is constant in the free space (vacuum) but they seem to disperse in any other materials as the propagation speed of EM ...
dr3patel's user avatar
  • 155
1 vote
1 answer
3k views

Refractive index and wavelength relation [duplicate]

In general, the refractive index of a certain medium tends to decrease with increasing wavelength. But are there any materials in which the opposite phenomenon occurs? That is, in which the ...
user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
2k views

I would like to know if violet bends the least or red [closed]

I had read that violet bends the least. But most of the webpages state that red bends the least. I would like to know why it is so.
Anagha 's user avatar
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

Speed of different colours of light [duplicate]

Speed of light is different for different colours. What does the speed of a particular colour of light depend on? Which colour of light has the highest speed?
Dyuti's user avatar
  • 37
0 votes
1 answer
1k views

What happens when the frequency of light propagating through a solid equals the resonance frequency of the electrons in the atoms? [closed]

I was reading this article and the following questions came to my mind: During the propagation of light through a solid, the photons collide with the atom making the electrons vibrate. What happens ...
Gonçalo Couto's user avatar
1 vote
1 answer
613 views

Frequency dependence of electromagnetic reflection

I was surprised to see that the Fresnel equations for reflection depends on refractive index and angle of incidence, but they do not depend on frequency. Why is this case? Are they restricted to ...
JHN's user avatar
  • 87
3 votes
1 answer
354 views

Speed of different em radiation in a medium [duplicate]

Does all frequency of light travel with the same speed in a particular material like glass? Since by cauchy's relation refractive index change with wavelength which implies the speed also changes. ...
user40428's user avatar
1 vote
2 answers
229 views

Dispersion in Rainbows

So I have tried searching for the working of a rainbow. I found many sources and the explanation was clear. I still have a problem though. Since dispersion happens due to different refractive indices ...
Lost's user avatar
  • 1,461
1 vote
1 answer
148 views

Are there optical materials with larger mean deviation with little to zero angular dispersion?

The following statement is from Concepts of Physics by Dr. H.C.Verma, from the chapter "Dispersion and Spectra", page 434, topic "Dispersive Power": The mean deviation depends on ...
Vishnu's user avatar
  • 5,336

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