Optical medium

An optical medium is a fancy way of talking about how light travels through different materials. Think about playing with a flashlight - when you shine it on something, the light travels from the bulb (where it’s made) out of the flashlight, through the air, and onto whatever you’re shining it on. But what if you shone the flashlight through a piece of clear plastic instead of just the air? That plastic would act as an optical medium because it changes how the light behaves - now the light has to travel through the plastic before it reaches whatever you’re shining the flashlight on. Depending on what the optical medium is made of (like plastic, glass, or even water), it can change how the light behaves in different ways - for example, it might make the light bend, scatter, or reflect in different directions. Scientists use optical mediums in all kinds of ways, like creating lenses for glasses and cameras, or studying how light interacts with different materials.