A 5.7 cm thick layer of oil (n=1.46) is sandwiched between a 1.1cm-thick sheet of glass and a 2.5cm -thick sheet of polystyrene plastic (n=1.59).
How long (in nm) does it take light incident perpendicular to the glass to pass through this 9.3cm -thick sandwich?
I cant seem to find the correct answer; any help would be greatly appreciated!
This sis stuid
To find how long it takes light to pass through the entire sandwich, we need to determine the time it takes for light to travel through each individual layer.
First, let's find the index of refraction for the glass, oil, and plastic layers:
Index of refraction for glass (n₁) = 1.46
Index of refraction for oil (n₂) = 1.46
Index of refraction for plastic (n₃) = 1.59
To calculate the time it takes light to travel through a certain distance, we can use the formula:
Time (t) = Distance (d) / Speed of Light (c)
Let's calculate the time it takes for light to pass through each layer separately:
1. Glass layer:
Distance (d₁) = 1.1 cm = 0.011 m (converted to meters)
Time (t₁) = d₁ / c, where c is the speed of light in a vacuum (approximately 3 x 10^8 m/s)
2. Oil layer:
Distance (d₂) = 5.7 cm = 0.057 m (converted to meters)
Time (t₂) = d₂ / (c/n₂), where n₂ is the index of refraction for oil
3. Plastic layer:
Distance (d₃) = 2.5 cm = 0.025 m (converted to meters)
Time (t₃) = d₃ / (c/n₃), where n₃ is the index of refraction for plastic
Now, let's calculate the total time taken by adding the times for each layer:
Total time (t_total) = t₁ + t₂ + t₃
Finally, to convert the total time taken to nanoseconds, we need to multiply it by 10^9:
Total time in nanoseconds (t_total_ns) = t_total x 10^9
By plugging in the values and performing the calculations, you should obtain the answer in nanoseconds.
Remember to ensure consistency in using units throughout the calculations.