Index of refraction of light

Question

darkbluechocobo · Answer

The question asks what it is, my answer would be:
It is the ratio of the speed of light in air to the speed of light in a material.
@Data_LG2 would this sound correct?

anonymous · Answer

yes, but I think instead of air , it should be in vacuum, don't you think so?

darkbluechocobo · Answer

Yes this is true rip I was looking at the definition for materials

darkbluechocobo · Answer

not just light

anonymous · Answer

"Index of refraction of light" from your post ? O.o

darkbluechocobo · Answer

Yeh I wasnt paying attention to the Index of refraction of material lel it was directly below it ><

anonymous · Answer

okie :3

hmm.. i'm thinking about the snell's law.. but i'm having trouble explaining it.
give me a sec. i need to refresh my brain about this topic

darkbluechocobo · Answer

hokay :p

anonymous · Answer

are sure there's index of refraction of MATERIALS?

because i think refraction refers to the behaviour of light when it passes through different media (materials) --not materials going through another material .-.

anonymous · Answer

aah nevermind ...

anonymous · Answer

https://www.learner.org/courses/physics/glossary/definition.html?invariant=index_refraction I'm totally lost with the wording >_>

darkbluechocobo · Answer

Ohh lel I was just seeing what was in my notes i ll give it to you in one moment

anonymous · Answer

alrighty

anonymous · Answer

Like you said, the index of refraction of materials is 
"the ratio of the speed of light in air to the speed of light in a material." 

The reason why I got confused is because I forgot the 'index' part. It makes sense now... refractive index of a medium refers to the number that describes how the light passes through that medium compared to the light's behaviour in a  vacuum. get it?

darkbluechocobo · Answer

Indeedly