Question

The refractive index is_______________

Answer 1

Refractive index:

1. The Refractive index of a medium is the ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to the velocity of light in the medium
2. It is denoted by n. It has no unit.

Mathematical representation:

$n=\frac{\sin i}{\sin r}$ $orn=\frac{c}{v}$

c is the velocity of light in a vacuum; $c=(3\times {10}^{8}m/s)$
v is the velocity of light in a substance.

Hence, the refractive index is the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction.