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OpenStudy (anonymous):

Can the speed of light ever be of any value other than c? If not then how do we explain the speed of light changing when it changes medium?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

It turns out the speed of an electro magnetic ripple (a photon) in free space is the speed of light always. Now what CAN happen is say a photon finds it's way inside a material somehow... well now the photon sometimes interacts with the atoms in the material. The atoms absorb the light and then randomly re-emit it. By the time the photon makes its way out of the material... a lot longer time has passed than would have if the photon had just gone in a straight line through free space. Does that make sense?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

Yes it does. But what if light is treated as a wave?

OpenStudy (anonymous):

You should go through these videos.. I cover in detail, how speed of light changes when it thought of as a wave ;-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vrIow4wDXyw&list=PLawLaqps30oDeAZPjVpHFBRkEeLylKzbk&index=1

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