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Old 19-05-2011, 09:52 AM
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renormalised (Carl)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Keshdogga View Post
Thanks for you're responce Carl but unfortunately i can't get much more out of what you're saying other than light slows down when it hits a denser mdeium because it does. I'm still boggled as to how density can cause the wavelength of light to change?
You can walk around a pool easily enough....how much harder is it to dive in the pool and walk across it?? It's exactly the same principle. The light finds it harder to move through the denser medium, its velocity of motion changes (slows down) and because it slows down the vector motion of the wave of light changes. Same as your car hitting the pool of water. The moment of inertia of one side of the car changes in value from the free side and the car spins. It's the same with the wavefront of the light passing into the denser medium.

Last edited by renormalised; 19-05-2011 at 10:07 AM.
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