When you look through a 3.7 mm thick window comprised of a material whose refractive index is 1.59, by what time interval is the light you see delayed by having to go through glass instead of air?
time=distance*index/speedlight
tdelay=time glass -time air
= distance/speedlight(1.59-1.00)
=distance*.59/speedlight
To calculate the time delay for light passing through a medium, we need to use the formula:
Δt = t₂ - t₁ = d × (n - 1) / c
Where:
Δt is the time delay
t₂ is the time it takes for light to pass through the medium
t₁ is the time it would take for light to pass through a vacuum (or air)
d is the thickness of the medium
n is the refractive index of the medium
c is the speed of light in a vacuum (approximately 3 × 10^8 m/s)
In this case, we have the following values:
d = 3.7 mm = 0.0037 m (convert mm to m)
n = 1.59 (refractive index of the material)
c = 3 × 10^8 m/s (speed of light in a vacuum)
Substituting these values into the formula, we can calculate the time delay:
Δt = (0.0037 m) × (1.59 - 1) / (3 × 10^8 m/s)
Simplifying the expression:
Δt ≈ 0.011 × 10^(-6) s
Therefore, the light is delayed by approximately 11 picoseconds (ps) when passing through the 3.7 mm thick window made of the given material.
Note: This calculation assumes that the light is passing through the window perpendicular to its surface and that the material is homogeneous.