The Experiment

When we were assigned to do our AP physics capstone projects, originally I thought that I would to do something with atomic theory or nuclear physics; however, I ended up doing a lab on the topic I DESPISE most in physics- optics. The lab is a relatively simple procedure that yields surprisingly complex results. Speaking to anyone outside the physics classroom was absolutely astounded. Not very many of them could imagine measuring the speed of light in gelatin (which is what this lab accomplishes) because they imagine me racing the photons with a circular stopwatch (which is impossible and unreasonable as there are thousands of light rays hitting the colors on the watch before I can even touch the buttons..) Using Snell's law, I can solve for the index of refraction of the gelatin (look at pictures for a detailed explanation of the math.) and then I know that the index of refraction is actually a ratio of the speed of light over the medium through which it is traveling.