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A wave is traveling disturbance. Sound waves originate from a vibrating source, and are propagated as the vibrations are transmitted from particle to particle in the medium through which the sound wave is traveling. In a solid, the particles are spaced more closely together than in a gas or liquid, and so the collisions between the particles take less time to occur.
Basically its because Solid particles are always touching so a sound wave can travel over them quickly, but a gas particle is spcaed out from each other and it takes time for the particles to hit each other and pass the wave of sound.
Like waiting for a rock to jump on over a lake.
Wiki User
∙ 11y ago
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThe particles in a gas are spread out more than a solid or liquid. Therefore sound does not have as many particles to vibrate and the vibrations cannot be moved on through the medium as effectively.
Wiki User
∙ 8y agoThe SPEED OF LIGHT does NOT slow down, it is a constant BUT the constant is different for different materials. Thus the speed of light for a transparent material will be less than it is for a vacuum.
The LIGHT slows when passing through a transparent but the SPEED OF LIGHT DOES NOT SLOW DOWN.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoThe situation is a bit complicated; an approximate explanation is that the light energy is absorbed by atoms, and re-emitted with a slight delay. You can find a more detailed explanation here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Refractive_index#Microscopic_explanation
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoThe particles are close together and can transfer the sound waves easily.
Wiki User
∙ 12y agoLight travels faster through empty space and slowest through solids . This is because matter has particles in it that slow down light .
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Is the speed of light is the same in every medium?
No; a denser medium will slow the light down. When the speed of light is quoted, unless otherwise stated, it is implied that it's through a vacuum. The primary example of this is the speed light travels through water or glass. The different speeds are what create the rainbow effect, essentially splitting the light by slowing down different wavelengths at a different rate.
In what medium the speed of light will be minimum?
The speed of light is a set speed at which all electromagnetic waves travel at in a vacuum. It is 3*10^8 meters/second... That being said, when light, or any other EM wave, travels through a medium it will slow down. Every material has an index of refraction which is the ratio of the speed at which light travels in a vacuum, to the the speed it travels in that material. If you know the index of refraction, you can use Snell's law to determine the speed light will travel through a specific medium. Every medium is different, however a rule of thumb is the denser the medium, the slower light will travel through it. For example, light travels faster in the atmoshpere than it does in water.
Why does the velocity of light appear to decrease in denser media?
Light's speed is a constant, but it appears to slow down in any media. Everything through which light might have to travel will cause it to appear to slow down. And it isn't necessarly associated with the density of a medium, but its refractive index. Let's set that aside and tackle the question. Why does light appear to slow down in a medium? Let's look at the medium and how light interacts with it. Air, glass, water, plastic or anything else is composed of atoms or molecules. These structures, though they are so small we almost cannot directly observe them (except perhaps with a quantum mechanical tunneling microscope), present a huge obstacle to the light photons. Recall that light, though it is electromagnetic energy, has what is called particle-wave duality, and it can appear to be a particle (with zero mass) as well as a wave. The photon is even more tiny than the atom. Remember atomic structure? Let's look. An atom is a nucleus of some kind with an electron or electrons whizzing around it. It is the electrons that define the "skin" or the "outer boundary" of the atom. The outside perimeter of the electron cloud is the "fence" around the space the atom occupies. And the electrons mean business. The prevent other atoms from "moving into" their space. And the electrons are in motion all the time, sorta like they are on patrol in their orbitals. What happens when a photon shows up? A photon, which is electromagnetic energy, interacts with the electrons in the atoms of the medium through which it is trying to make its way. Each medium treats light differently (and a given medium treats different wavelengths of light differently, too!), and this results in the photons kind of "bouncing there way" through the medium. The speed of the photons, the speed of the light, is constant, but the "delay" introduced by interference caused by the electrons of the atoms and/or molecules of the medium through which it is traveling makes it appear to slow down. The photons have interacted with the electrons of the atoms in the medium and slowed the passage of light through the medium without actually slowing up the light itself. There is a bit more to this, but it isn't practical to conduct a course in quantum electrodynamics here. The long and short of it is that the light interacts with the electrons of the atoms in the medium through which it's moving, being absorbed and re-emitted as it goes.
What is speed of light affected by?
The speed of light is defined as being through a 'VACUUM'. If it passes through any material object it will slow down. It will slow down on passing through air. It will come to a complete stop when it tries to pass through a brick wall; because you cannot see light on the other side of a brick wall. The defined speed is 299,792,458 m/s in a vacuum. Given as an approximation as 3.0 x 10^(8) m/s in a vacuum, or 3,0 x 10(6) km/s. In words ' three million kilometres in one second'.
Is the speed of light the same in every medium?
No, depending on the matter, speed of light can vary. It's speed is inversely proportional to the viscosity of the matter. It travels the fastest through Vacuum>>Air>>Liquids>>Solids.
What does light do when it travels through a medium?
Light slows down when going through a medium. This is not to say that the speed of light, c, slows down. It doesn't - c remains constant - rather the light bounces randomly around the medium on its way to its destination, which increases the time it takes for the light to traverse through the medium.
How can you change the medium that light travels through?
Anything that light will penetrate is a medium light will travel through. Any such medium will slow light down, to a certain degree. Window glass slows light down somewhat. Water slows light down a bit more. A diamond slows light down greatly (part of the reason for the "fire" in a diamond.)
What happens to the speed of light waves when they travel through a medium?
The speed of light in a material medium is slower than the speed of light in a vacuum. This is a consequence of the electromagnetic wave interacting with the atoms and molecules in the medium, a process merits its own question.Of course, this assumes the medium is transparent for the wavelength of light travelling through it.Light waves slow down when they pass through a medium, eg glass or water
What happen when light travel through medium?
When light travels through a transparent medium it is slowed down according to the refractive index of the medium. Also if light is incident at an angle onto a surface of such a material, the light rays are bent or refracted by an angle at the boundary of the material, the angle again depending on the refractive index.
Why does light bend when it is refracted?
Light bends when it is refracted because it goes through different mediums or substances and slows down. Because it slows down, the light doesn't go all the way through the medium so is in a different position.
Is the speed of light is the same in every medium?
No; a denser medium will slow the light down. When the speed of light is quoted, unless otherwise stated, it is implied that it's through a vacuum. The primary example of this is the speed light travels through water or glass. The different speeds are what create the rainbow effect, essentially splitting the light by slowing down different wavelengths at a different rate.
If light slows down when entering glass or water how does it speed up again when it leaves the glass?
Light usually travels at a constant speed, c, which is roughly 186000 miles per second. When it passes through a transparent medium, such as glass, it slows slightly. However, it will return to c after leaves the glass. Photons have no intrinsic mass, so no force is required to re-accelerate them. They always travel at the speed of light in the medium in which they're traveling.
In what medium the speed of light will be minimum?
The speed of light is a set speed at which all electromagnetic waves travel at in a vacuum. It is 3*10^8 meters/second... That being said, when light, or any other EM wave, travels through a medium it will slow down. Every material has an index of refraction which is the ratio of the speed at which light travels in a vacuum, to the the speed it travels in that material. If you know the index of refraction, you can use Snell's law to determine the speed light will travel through a specific medium. Every medium is different, however a rule of thumb is the denser the medium, the slower light will travel through it. For example, light travels faster in the atmoshpere than it does in water.
Does a beam of light have a constant speed?
Light travels at a constant speed of 299,792,458 meters per second in a vacuum. However, as light travels through different mediums, it slows down depending on the medium. The crazy thing about light though, is that if it leaves a medium and starts travelling back through a vacuum, it once again goes 299,792,458 meters per second.
What is it about the nature of light that causes it to be refracted?
Refraction is the bending of a wave when it enters a medium where it's speed is different. The refraction of light when it passes from a fast medium to a slow medium bends the light ray toward the normal to the boundary between the two media. The amount of bending depends on the indices of refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.
What happenend light from rarer to denser medium?
It slowed down.
Splitting of white light is due to?
Light has a constant speed in a vacuum, however when it passes through a different medium (such as air, water etc) it is slowed down as a result of its interaction with matter. If the light enters a different medium on an angle then it bends. The degree to which light is slowed down depends on the wavelength of the light. White light is made of light from lots of different wavelengths (eg blue light, red light, green light). The different wavelengths (different colours) are slowed down different amounts so bend more/less causing the light to spread out.
