The speed of light in a medium, such as water, can be calculated using the formula:
v = c / n
where: v is the speed of light in the medium, c is the speed of light in a vacuum (approximately 299,792,458 meters per second), n is the refractive index of the medium.
The refractive index (n) of a medium is a measure of how much the speed of light is reduced when it passes through that medium compared to its speed in a vacuum. For water, the refractive index depends on factors such as temperature and wavelength of light.
For visible light, the refractive index of water is approximately 1.333. By substituting this value into the formula, we can calculate the speed of light in water:
v = (299,792,458 m/s) / 1.333 ≈ 224,900,462 m/s
Therefore, the speed of light in water is approximately 224,900,462 meters per second.