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Try not to imagine light as like a Baseball that slows down as it hits a denser medium (like water), and then (seemingly impossibly) speeding up as it goes back to a less dense medium (like air).

Light should instead be viewed as an electromagnetic wave, a wave that can be altered by the charged particles within a medium. How that EM wave is altered depends on the frequency with which the wave is vibrating and the nature of the charged particles in the medium.

When you do the calculations rigorously, you find that water molecules will cause this wave to propogate less slowly. When it leaves the water into air, almost no charged particles exist to alter the speed of propogation of this wave -- it instead travels at the speed Maxwell said such an EM wave would propogate.

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13y ago

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What percentage of the speed of light in vacuum is the speed of light in water?

When light with wavelength of 589 nanometers moves through water at the temperature of 20° C, its speed is 75% of the speed of light in vacuum.


Does light speed up as it travels through water?

No, light does not speed up in water, it slows down.


Is this true or false that light moves slower through water than through air?

Yes it is true. If c is the speed of light in air then in water it will be 3/4 of c Hence refractive index of water = speed of light in air/speed of light in water So refractive index = 4/3 = 1.333


Why does speed of light increase after passing through water?

The speed of light depends on the electrical properties of whatever substance it's in. It has nothing to do with what substance it used to be in before, or what substance it's going into next. -- If it goes from air into vacuum, its speed increases. -- If it goes from air into water, its speed decreases. -- If it goes from water into air, its speed increases. -- If it goes from water into diamond or jello, its speed decreases.


Is the speed of light in water should be more than the speed of light in a vacuum?

No. Light slows down whenever it passes through water. Nothing is faster than the speed of light in a vaccum.


Does Light moves slower through water than through air?

Yes, light moves slower through water than through air because water has a higher refractive index than air. This causes light to bend more when it enters water, resulting in a slower speed.


How fast does light move through water?

Light travels through water at a speed of about 225,000 kilometers per second, which is approximately 25% slower than its speed in a vacuum.


What is light refracted by?

Light is refracted by a discontinuity in the refractive index of the medium ... by going from one medium into another one where the speed of light is different.


What happens to the speed of light when it passes through water?

It slows from c to c/n where n is the refractive index of water


How does the speed of light change when it enters the water?

That would depend what it enters from. If the light is transitioning from air to water,its speed decreases. If it's going from jello to water, its speed increases.


Why does light slow down in water?

Light slows down in water because it interacts with the molecules in the water, causing it to change direction and speed. This interaction results in a decrease in the speed of light as it travels through the water.


What happens to the speed of the light as it travels from the air through the glass and then through the water?

The light refracts due to the change in speed. The change in speed occurs because the light is travelling through a denser medium. So it will travel fastest through the air and slowest through the glass