Does the speed of light change in air or water?
Yes. Light is slowed down in transparent media such as air, water and glass. The ratio by which it is slowed is called the refractive index of the medium and is always greater than one*. This was discovered by Jean Foucault in 1850. When people talk about “the speed of light” in a general context they usually mean “the speed of light in a vacuum”. This quantity is also referred to as c.
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