REFRACTIVE INDEX

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does refractive index mean? 

• REFRACTIVE INDEX (noun)
  The noun REFRACTIVE INDEX has 1 sense:

1. the ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to that in a medium

  Familiarity information: REFRACTIVE INDEX used as a noun is very rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• REFRACTIVE INDEX (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

The ratio of the velocity of light in a vacuum to that in a medium

Classified under:

Nouns denoting relations between people or things or ideas

Synonyms:

index of refraction; refractive index

Hypernyms ("refractive index" is a kind of...):

ratio (the relative magnitudes of two quantities (usually expressed as a quotient))

 Context examples 

Small differences in optical path length due to differences in refractive index and thickness of structures are visualised as differences in light intensity.

(Phase-Contrast Microscopy, NCI Thesaurus)

It has a refractive index lower than the crystalline lens, which it surrounds, and is involved in the metabolism of the cornea and the crystalline lens.

(Aqueous Humor, NLM, Medical Subject Headings)