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Re: speed of light of different colours

Think of the material as being "optically active". Simplistically, light
interacts "electromagnetically" with the atoms of the material. A plot of
speed of light vs frequency will vary considerable with material. It
should not be linear, nor necessarily greater for one end of the spectrum
than the other, but should depend on electrical and magnetic properties of
the "structure" of the material. Consequently, phase transitions (changes
in the "electromagnetic" structure) in the material will alter the
frequency response (or plot of speed of light (inverse of index of
refraction at visible light frequencies) versus frequency. Remember, light
is not just the visible part of the spectrum! Karl

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Dear all,
why is the speed of light for red bigger that , say, blue, when both are
in an optcally denser medium? I know the refractive indices for both of
them are different, and wavelengths are also different, but what actually
causes the "difference" ?

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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear all,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>why is the speed of light for red bigger that ,
say, blue, when both are&nbsp;in an optcally denser medium? I know the
refractive indices for both of them are different, and wavelengths are also
different, but what actually causes the "difference"
?</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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