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This speed depends on the medium that is has to pass through, light travels at different speeds through different substances. For a perfect vacuum the speed is 3.00 x 108 m/s, around 186000 miles per second.

The amount by which light slows in a given material is described by the index of refraction, the factor by which it slows down. For a vacuum, this is 1, for air it is 1.0003, for water it is 1.33 for glass around 1.5 and for diamond it is 2.42.

So the speed of light in m/s through water is 3 x 108 / 1.33 = 2.24 x 108 m/sec.

The speed of light also depends on the wavelength, blue light is slower in a given medium than red light. This is what causes the colours from white light to separate out when passed through water, glass or diamond for example.

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