Define the refractive index of a medium. What is its SI unit?

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Solution

The refractive index of a medium is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum or air to the speed of the light in the given medium.
$R e f r a c t i v e i n d e x o f t h e m e d i u m (n) = \frac{S p e e d o f t h e l i g h t i n v a c u u m o r a i r (c)}{S p e e d o f t h e l i g h t i n t h e g i v e n m e d i u m (v)}$
Since it is a ratio, it does not have any unit.
Thus, the refractive index of a medium is defined as the ratio of the speed of light in vacuum to the speed of the light in the given medium. It has no units.

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