Question

For which color- violet or green- does glass have a greater refractive index?

Answer 1

Step 1: Refractive index

1. The degree to which light bends when passing through a material is denoted by the refractive index.
2. If the refractive index is more then light refracts less.

Step 2: Violet has a larger refractive index than green because

1. The wavelength of the light is inversely proportional to the refractive index of the material.
2. Thus, when light passes over a prism then the violet light is refracted more in comparison to green as the wavelength of violet is less than the wavelength of green.
3. Hence, the refractive index of glass for violet is more than that for green.