Do different colours of light travel at different speeds? If so, what colours travel faster and what colours travel slower?
2007-01-13 07:57:29 · 5 answers · asked by Amy 2 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Physics
All light of all colors travels at the same speed (the speed of light) in a vacuum but can vary by colour in other substamces.
This is true of other frequencies of electromagnetic radiation such as radio, x-rays. as well
The speed of light is approximately 300,000,000 meters per second in a vacuum.
In other media such as glass, water, the speed of light can vary by wavelength as the refractive index can vary by wavelength due to an effect called chromatic-dispersion (either due to the physical properties of the material or by constraining the light into a waveguide such as an optical fiber). Thus the speed of light can vary by colour in a medium. A good example of this is a prism - which splits out the spectrum due to the variable refractive index by colour.
To predict which colors travel faster you would have to check the properties of the exact medium such as a glass optical fiber.
2007-01-13 08:13:39 · answer #1 · answered by elentophanes 4 · 1⤊ 1⤋
All types of electromagnetic radiation, from light to infra-red to microwaves to x-rays, all travel at the same speed : 3 * 10^8 ms^-1
So no, there is no faster or slower colour of light
2007-01-13 08:05:35 · answer #2 · answered by readie252 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
ok. Time does not flow slower for speedy products. evidently to you, assuming you're table certain, that factor is passing slower for speedy products. If there aren't any accelerations advantages - each thing is continuously shifting on the equivalent speeds relative to one yet another - then there is no thanks to inform who's moving and who's at relax. Now the dual paradox, that you type of paraphrased the following, has 3 accelerations in it. you commence from leisure and income an truly extreme speed. After a time, you change round this signifies that you sluggish down, you momentarily end, and also you speed as a lot as a extreme speed again. subsequently you attain earth and sluggish to a stop. At each and each acceleration, you journey achronic which the earthbound individual does not so that is sparkling who's in move and who's at relax. for this reason, you're going to go back after 10 years a at the same time as maximum effective to seek out that a a lot longer time has exceeded in the international. Now familiar individual trek assumes there's a thanks to journey exterior of the 4 dimensional area that defines the universe - the so-frequently happening as subspace. in this subspace, relativity does not save on with - it truly is exterior the universe fantastically a lot - so that you are able to flow from factor to aspect in a finite era of time and, the time it takes to traverse the hollow as measured by technique of the starship's clock will be the time that elapses interior the universe - type of now unlikely notwithstanding fundamental if you're writting one hour lengthy television episodes. there is not any data for the kind of commute use in familiar individual trek.
2016-11-23 16:20:18 · answer #3 · answered by habarugira 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
In space (or a vacuum), color does not affect speed of light. However, blue light and red light travel at SLIGHTLY different velocities in air. This is called "dispersion".
2007-01-13 08:12:18 · answer #4 · answered by Us5 1 · 1⤊ 0⤋
In a vacuum, they travel at the same speed, In solids such as glass they travel at different speeds, This explains the rainbow effect in a glass prism
2007-01-13 08:07:19 · answer #5 · answered by amania_r 7 · 2⤊ 1⤋