Practicing Success

Target Exam

CUET

Subject

Physics

Chapter

Ray Optics

Question:

Inside a substance such as glass or water, light travels more slowly than it does in a vacuum. If c denotes the speed of light in a vacuum and v denotes its speed through some other substance, then $v=\frac{c}{n}$

Where n is a constant called the index of refraction.

To almost exact approximation, a substance’s index of refraction does not depend the wavelength of light. For instance, when red and blue light waves enter water, they both slow down by about the same amount. More precise measurements, however, reveal that n varies with wavelength. Table 1 presents some indices of refraction of Cutson glass, for different wavelengths of visible light. A nanometer (nm) is $10^{–9}$ meters. In a vacuum, light travesl at $c = 3.0 × 10^8 m/s$. Indices of refraction of Cutson glass (Table 1)

approximate

wavelength in vacuum (nm)  

n

yellow

580

1.500

yellow orange  

600

1.498

orange

620

1.496

orange red

640

1.494

Inside Cutson glass

Options:

Orange light travels faster than yellow light

Yellow light travels faster than orange light

Orange and yellow light ravels equally fast

We cannot determine which colour of light travels faster

Correct Answer:

Orange light travels faster than yellow light

Explanation:

The velocity of light is inversely proportional to the index of refraction $v=\frac{c}{n}$, So, the lower the n, the higher the v. According to table, Cutson glass has a slightly lower n for orange light than it has for yellow light. Therefore, inside Cutson glass, orange light travels slightly faster.