Light is travelling at a speed of #1.56*10^8# #m#/#s# through zircon. What is the index of refraction of zircon?

The index of refraction ($n$) can be calculated using the formula:

$n = \frac{c}{v}$

where:
$n$ = index of refraction,
$c$ = speed of light in a vacuum ($3.00 \times 10^8 \, \text{m/s}$),
$v$ = speed of light in the given medium.

For zircon:
$n = \frac{3.00 \times 10^8 \, \text{m/s}}{1.56 \times 10^8 \, \text{m/s}}$

$n \approx 1.92$

The index of refraction of zircon can be calculated using the formula:

$\text{Index of refraction} = \frac{\text{Speed of light in vacuum}}{\text{Speed of light in the medium}}$

Given that the speed of light in vacuum is $3.00 \times 10^8$ m/s and the speed of light in zircon is $1.56 \times 10^8$ m/s, we can plug these values into the formula to find the index of refraction of zircon:

$\text{Index of refraction} = \frac{3.00 \times 10^8 \, \text{m/s}}{1.56 \times 10^8 \, \text{m/s}}$
$\text{Index of refraction} = 1.923$

Therefore, the index of refraction of zircon is approximately 1.923.