A laser pulse passes successively through two transparent sheets of equal thickness (4.0

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Waves · Waves

Problem

A laser pulse passes successively through two transparent sheets of equal thickness 4.0 cm4.0\,\text{cm} each. In sheet A the pulse takes 2.20×10−10 s2.20\times10^{-10}\,\text{s} to emerge, whereas in sheet B it takes 1.60×10−10 s1.60\times10^{-10}\,\text{s}. The speed of light in vacuum is 3.0×108 m s−13.0\times10^{8}\,\text{m s}^{-1}. (i) Calculate the speed of light inside sheet A and inside sheet B. (ii) Determine the absolute refractive index of each sheet. (iii) Find the ratio of the refractive index of sheet A to that of sheet B. (iv) Identify which sheet is optically denser and state one consequence of this difference when light passes from sheet B to sheet A.

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