How is the refractive index of a medium related to the speed of light? Obtain an expression for refractive index of a medium with respect to another in terms of speed of light in these two media?
Answer:
Let v1 be the speed of light in medium 1 and v2 be the speed of light in medium 2. The refractive index of medium 2 with respect to medium 1 is given by the ratio of the speed of light in medium 1 and the speed of light in medium 2. This is usually represented by the symbol n21.