I've always taken the explanation that "light is a propagation of a wave in the electromagnetic field, and it propagates slower through a medium than a vacuum." So from my viewpoint, its not that the photon is slowing or being absorbed and re-emitted, its simply that the speed of light in a medium is less than a vacuum. Is there a reason this interpretation would be wrong, or just yet another way to think about it?
Keudn t1_j8hd0dv wrote
Reply to comment by Weed_O_Whirler in Light traveling through a medium that slows it. Does the same photon emerge? by TheGandPTurtle
I've always taken the explanation that "light is a propagation of a wave in the electromagnetic field, and it propagates slower through a medium than a vacuum." So from my viewpoint, its not that the photon is slowing or being absorbed and re-emitted, its simply that the speed of light in a medium is less than a vacuum. Is there a reason this interpretation would be wrong, or just yet another way to think about it?