Which Color of Light Red or Blue Travels Faster in Crown Glass? (Scientific Interpretation)

Wondering to know about the physics of light and color? How does it react when it passes through glass? Obviously, light can pass through glass. However, a part of the light will be reflected after hitting the surface of the glass. But much light will pass through it. 

Light is not a single entity. It is composed of a spectrum of visible colors. These colors vary considerably in wavelength and hence speed as light passes through a certain medium.

Suppose we are going to experiment: Which color of light travel red or blue travel faster in crown glass?

The color with the highest wavelength passes faster in the crown glass. The red color has a high wavelength as compared to the blue color. That’s why red passes more quickly without bending more from crown glass. While blue has a lower wavelength and passes relatively slow. However, the slowest color that passes through crown glass is violet.

If you want scientific proof of this fact, keep reading till the end!

Handy Hints: What happens if you swallow glass?

What is Crown Glass

It is a unique variety of glass composed without lead or iron. It is actually made up of silicate soda or potash and lime. It acquires a crown-like shape in the blowing process. That’s why it is called crown glass. Scientifically, it is an optic glass of low dispersion and low refractive index.

What is crown glass used for? Earlier, it was used in windows. But due to the low refractive index, It has been now widely used in optics. It is also used in combination with flint glass to form lenses corrected for chromatic aberration.

Which Color of Light Travel Faster In Crown Glass Red or Blue: Scientific Interpretation

You may have encountered this multiple-choice in your exam

Which color of light travel faster in glass:

a) Red

b) Blue

c) Violet

Let’s see the scientific interpretation of the answer to this question.

Start with the equation:

The velocity of light as it passes through a certain medium is equal to:

v= fλ

In this equation:

 V stands for Velocity

f  Stands for frequency

λ=λ0/n

 λ₀ is the wavelength of light in a vacuum.

n is an index of refraction

From the first equation, we got that f is constant for any given color of light. It will not change with the change of medium

The visible spectrum of light when it passes through any medium is: