Quote:
Originally Posted by xelasnave
Carl when light is refracted in a prism into different colors does this not suggest different speeds for different colors.?
Alex
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Yes, that is correct, if you're splitting "white" light up into its constituent colours and whilst that light is traveling through the prism. However, if you pass red light or blue light through a dense medium, the velocity at which the light particles enters the medium is always c, no matter the wavelength/frequency they're at. Once inside the medium though, they will behave differently according to the wavelength/frequency they possess. Once they leave the medium, the photons immediately resume their original velocity...c.
But that wasn't Ernie's question.