Alright, I am doing a research paper on light, mostly sun light. I am have problems finding good sites for information. If you know of any sites that give good information such as:1. Speed of light through certain objects, as I know light is not a constant2. Simply, how the sun creates light3. How slow have we made light travel. I read an article on Yahoo! not long ago about how some scientists slowed light to about 30 mph. Would love to find that article again if anyone happens to know where it is4. Any other information that you may find interesting would be greatThanks a lot for all the help.
1. The Index of Refraction: The speed of light in a vacuum (space) is constant. As light passes through different mediums it will slow down. The amount it slows down is measured by what is known as The index of Refraction. The formula is as follows..........
1. i found this on wikipedia which explains much more eloquently than i tried to say it: Note that the speed of light referred to is the observed or measured speed in some medium and not the true speed of light (as observed in vacuum). It may be noted, that once the light has emerged from the medium it changes back to its original speed and this is without gaining any energy. This can mean only one thing—that the light's speed itself was never altered in the first place. It is sometimes claimed that light is slowed on its passage through a block of media by being absorbed and re-emitted by the atoms, only traveling at full speed through the vacuum between atoms. This explanation is incorrect and runs into problems if you try to use it to explain the details of refraction beyond the simple slowing of the signal. Classically, considering electromagnetic radiation to be like a wave, the charges of each atom (primarily the electrons) interfere with the electric and magnetic fields of the radiation, slowing its progress. The full quantum-mechanical explanation is essentially the same, but has to cope with the discrete particle nature (see Photons in matter): The E-field creates phonons in the media, and the photons mix with the phonons. The resulting mixture, called a polariton, travels with a speed different from light. 2. Light is created by electrons becoming excited and then returning to their previous energy level. By doing this they release a photon. The electrons become excited in the first place by thermonuclear fusion in the suns core. 3. not sure but i've read the article you're talking about.
