My question is, given the above statement, why electromagnetic waves attain different speeds in media other than vacuum even though they are of the same type and propagate in the same medium?
Asked
Active
Viewed 45 times
0
-
3But you just agreed that it is "in media other than vacuum". i.e. different medium. – naturallyInconsistent Jan 03 '24 at 06:58
-
1Does this answer your question? Why do prisms work (why is refraction frequency dependent)? – John Rennie Jan 03 '24 at 07:17
-
See also Why does the refractive index depend on wavelength? – John Rennie Jan 03 '24 at 07:21
1 Answers
1
The speed of a wave depends on the type of wave, on the medium but also, not always but in most cases, on the frequency.
For instance, in media other than vacuum, lower frequency (red) light waves propagate faster than higher frequency (purple) ones. This is what causes rainbows.

Alfred
- 4,204