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Light travels faster through a gas. In general, as the density of a material increases the velocity which light will travel through it decreases.
Wiki User
∙ 13y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoShort Answer:
Light generally travels faster in gasses than in liquids or solids. There is no
general rule as to whether the speed of light in solids will be faster or slower than
in liquids.
Long Answer:
The speed of light in vacuum, c, is related to the speed of light in a material, v, is given by the index of refraction, n, of the material.
v=c/n Normally, gases have an index of refraction very nearly equal to unity, hence the
speed of light is very close to the speed of light in a vacuum.
Liquids and solids tend to have an index of refraction substantially larger than
unity, i.e. 1.1 to 1.7 or higher. As a result, we know the speed of light is much
lower in most solids and liquids.
There is no general statement that can be made comparing light speed in liquids
or solids. Sometimes it is higher and sometimes lower.
Caveat:
To explain why a particular material has a particular index of refraction (and
hence a particular value for the speed of light) one has to characterize the
electronic structure and response of the electrons in the material to the
electromagnetic fields of a light wave. This is not simple.
For many materials, light does not travel much at all and just gets absorbed. In
such a case, it is tricky to define the speed of light, but it can be done. That too
is not so simple.
============================
Observation #1 on the Long Answer:
The index of refraction is a description of the speed of light in the substance.
The Long Answer teeters uncomfortably close to the implication that the index
of refraction is somehow its cause.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe speed of light is constant and is not affected by the material through which it travels. The speed of light is only constant in a vacuum
Speed of the light in vacuum is 300000000 metres per second
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoAir. Light has the highest speed in a vacuum (about 300,000 km/sec), and is only slightly slower in air. However, in a solid, it can be quite a bit slower. For example, the speed of light in glass (as when it is used for fiber optics), the speed is only about 2/3 the speed of light in a vacuum (so, that would be about 200,000 km/sec).
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoIn air the speed is high.
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Why does sound travel fastest through a solid?
zxs
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Does light travel faster through liquid or solid?
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