A light wave has a 670 nm wavelength in air. Its wavelength in a transparent solid is 376 nm.
(a) What is the speed of light in this solid?
(b) What is the light's frequency in the solid?
3*10^8 * (376/670)
There is no mechanism for the waves standing stationary in line waiting to get into your plastic stuff. Therefore the same number per second go by a spot inside as go by outside.
I am struggling trying to figure the frequency. Thanks for the help with part a.
To answer these questions, we can use the formula relating the speed of light, wavelength, and frequency:
v = λ * f
where:
v = speed of light
λ = wavelength
f = frequency
(a) To find the speed of light in the solid, we need to use the given wavelengths of the light wave in air and in the solid. The formula tells us that the speed of light is equal to the product of wavelength and frequency.
Since the frequency of light remains constant regardless of the medium it travels through, we can use the fact that since wavelength changes when the light passes from one medium to another, the speed of light will change.
In this case, the wavelength of the light wave in air is given as 670 nm, and in the transparent solid, it is given as 376 nm. So we can set up an equation to solve for the speed of light in the solid:
v (solid) = λ (solid) * f (solid)
To find the speed of light in air, we can use the same formula with the given wavelength of 670 nm:
v (air) = λ (air) * f (air)
Since the frequency remains constant, we can equate the two equations:
v (air) = λ (air) * f (solid)
v (solid) = λ (solid) * f (solid)
Simplifying the equation:
v (air) / v (solid) = λ (air) / λ (solid)
Now we can substitute the given values:
v (air) = speed of light in air = 3 x 10^8 m/s (approximately)
λ (air) = 670 nm = 670 x 10^-9 m
λ (solid) = 376 nm = 376 x 10^-9 m
Solving for v (solid):
v (solid) = v (air) * (λ (air) / λ (solid))
Substituting the values:
v (solid) = 3 x 10^8 m/s * (670 x 10^-9 m / 376 x 10^-9 m)
Now we can calculate the speed of light in the solid.
(b) To find the frequency of light in the solid, we can rearrange the formula:
f (solid) = v (solid) / λ (solid)
Using the value we obtained for v (solid) in part (a) and the given value of λ (solid), we can calculate the frequency of light in the solid.