Nd
As mentioned in the Maxwell Materials page, the Nd is the index of refraction of the material. The name Nd is used because it is the common way to denote an index of refraction that has been measured at the wavelength of 583 nm for a certain material. You can find a list of common IOR values here. The Nd is important not only for transparent materials but for all materials as it defines both surface reflections and the refraction of light inside the object.
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You should turn on Force Fresnel when you are working with untextured refl. 0° and refl.90° channels to create more realistic metals or other shiny materials. Force Fresnel will then ensure a correct reflectance across the entire surface, even if you set a very dark refl. 0° color.
K parameter
From a physical point of view, the index of refraction is not just a plain number. In fact it is a number derived from a complex calculation to define the refractive index at one particular wavelength. This is the calculation:
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