scott wrote:
>> While investigating Wikipedia, I came across a fleeting suggestion 
>> that a material's optical properties are somehow related to its 
>> electrical and magnetic properties.
> 
> Of course they are, "optical" properties are just how a material 
> responds to a certain frequency band of electro-magnetic waves.  We just 
> think of the optical wavelengths differently to the others because 
> that's what our eyes respond to.

It's more that, in everyday life, there is no way of turning light into 
either electricity or magnetism. I'm sure theoretically it must be 
possible somehow, but it's not something you typically observe.

> For example, you know how light "bends" when it enters eg glass, well 
> how much it bends is related to the refractive index of the material.  
> And if you know the "electrical" properties you can calculate this 
> refractive index exactly (it's the square root of permittivity times 
> permeablility of the material).

So that's the magic relationship? Those two measurements allow you to 
determine the index of refraction?

Presumably knowing the *colour* of an object still requires you to 
compute electron energy band gaps and weird crap like that though?

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