Variable speed of light with Einstein and stated both speed and direction of light change in a gravity field first published 1923 in English, 1920 in German. Born expressed the magnitude of light speed as the square root of (−"g"/"g") gravity components in general relativity to leave no doubt about his intent. Richard Tolman also agreed with Einstein and expressed the radial speed of light as "dr"/"dt" in a gravity field. where "m" is "MG"/"c" and where natural units are used such that "c" is equal to one. Robert Dicke, in 1957, developed a related VSL theory of gravity. In contrast to Einstein, Dicke
Speed of light at which light travels in a material is called the refractive index of the material (). For example, for visible light the refractive index of glass is typically around 1.5, meaning that light in glass travels at ; the refractive index of air for visible light is about 1.0003, so the speed of light in air is about , which is about slower than . For many practical purposes, light and other electromagnetic waves will appear to propagate instantaneously, but for long distances and very sensitive measurements, their finite speed has noticeable effects. In communicating with distant space probes, it