Margaret Wettergreen

PHY 2049L
04/03/2014
Lab #11 – Dispersion from a Prism and Index of Refraction
Purpose:

The purpose of this lab was to study the dispersion spectrum from a prism and to measure the index of refraction
of the prism. By completing this lab, one would be able to determine if the index of refraction depends on the
color of light and also see how light behaves inside of a dispersive medium. The index of refraction would be
measured using the following methods:
 Snell’s law
 minimum deviation from a prism
 total internal reflection
 Brewster’s angle
 apparent depth

Theory:

When a monochromatic light ray (single color/wavelength) passes from air to a transparent medium, it is
refracted from its original direction and can be described using Snell’s law:
𝑐 sin 𝜃2
𝑛= =
𝜈 sin 𝜃1
where n is the refractive index of the medium, c is the speed of light in a vacuum, ν is
the speed of light in the medium, θ1 is the incident angle and θ2 is the refractive angle.

With polychromatic light rays, each component color bends by a different amount because the wave speed varies
with each color’s wavelength. This dependence of the wave speed on wavelength is known as dispersion and is
directly related to the index of refraction. Generally, the index decreases as wavelength increases, with blue light
traveling slower in transparent media than red light.

When white light is transmitted through a denser transparent medium than air, it is dispersed into a spectrum of
colors (ROYGBIV). Colors with longer wavelengths (red) are deviated the least and those with shorter
wavelengths (violet) are deviated the most. The angle between the incident angle (original beam’s direction) and
the refractive angle (emergent component’s direction) is called the angle of deviation, D.
Since the frequency of the light wave is constant when it travels from one medium to another, the wave speed
will change depending on the wavelength (f = ν/λ); the longer the wavelength, the more speed it will have. As a
result, the refractive indices will differ for different wavelengths. This relationship is given by:
𝑐 𝑓𝜆0 𝜆0
𝑛= = =
𝑣 𝑓𝜆 𝜆
where λ0 is the wavelength in a vacuum and λ is the wavelength in the medium.

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Procedure:

Experiment 11.1: Dispersion spectrum from a prism and the measurement of n using Snell’s law

1) A sheet of white paper was placed parallel to the light source and the slit mask of the light source was
adjusted until only one beam of light appeared.
2) The non-reflective side of the prism was placed on top of the paper, with the triangular point facing
downwards (see Fig. 2).
3) The rhombus was slowly rotated with small angular movements until the refracted ray was as large as
possible and separated into its component colors.
4) The outline of the rhombus was traced and points a1 – a4 were marked and lines were drawn to connect
them, as depicted in Fig. 2.
5) Using a protractor, the incident angle (θ1) and refracted angle (θ2) were measured and recorded.

Experiment 11.2: Measurement of n using the minimum deviation from a prism

The angle of minimum deviation occurs when the entering angle and the exiting angle are the same,
generating a symmetrical configuration. Applying Snell's Law at the interfaces the following
relationship can be derived in order to calculate the index of refraction:
𝐴+𝐷
sin ( 2 𝑚 )
𝑛=
𝐴
sin ( 2 )
1) Steps 1 – 2 from experiment 11.1 were repeated. Then, the prism was rotated until the refracted angle
was reduced in order to find the minimum deviation angle. This was done by observing when the
spectrum’s motion reversed, i.e. reversal position occurred at the minimum deviation angle.
2) The outline of the rhombus was traced and points b0 – b4 were marked and line were drawn connecting
points (b0, b1), (b2, b3), and (b2, b4), as depicted in Fig. 3.
3) Using a protractor, the deviation angle (Dm) was measured for the blue and orange lines.
𝑐 𝑓𝜆0 𝜆0
4) The wavelength and wave speed were calculated using 𝑛 = = = .
𝑣 𝑓𝜆 𝜆
5) The indices of refraction for each color were calculated using A = 45° in the equation above.

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Experiment 11.3: Measurement of n using the principle of total internal reflection

A third way of measuring n is by using the critical angle for total internal reflection at the prism/air
interface (see Fig. 4). At the critical angle, Snell’s law gives:
1
𝑛 sin 𝜃𝑐 = (1) sin 90° 𝑜𝑟 𝑛=
sin 𝜃𝑐
1) Repeating steps 1 – 2 from 11.1, the rhombus was rotated until the refracted ray just barely disappears.
2) The outline of the rhombus was traced and points c1 – c3 were marked and lines were drawn connecting
points (c1, c2) and (c2, c3), as depicted Fig. 5.
3) The angle 2θc was measured and the index of refraction was calculated using the equation above.

Experiment 11.4: Measurement of n using the Brewster’s angle

A fourth way of calculating n is by using the Brewster’s angle. At the prism/air interface, if and when
the incident angle and refracted angle add up to 90° (θ1 + θ2 = 90°), then the incident angle is called the
Brewster’s angle. Using Snell’s law gives:
1
𝑛 sin 𝜃𝑐 = (1) sin 90° → 𝑛=
tan 𝜃𝐵
1) After repeating steps 1 – 2 from experiment 11.1,
the rhombus was rotated until the Brewster’s angle
was created, i.e. the angle between the refracted
ray and the reflected ray was exactly 90° (see Fig.
6).
2) The outline of the rhombus was traced and points
d1 – d4 were marked and lines were drawn
connecting points (d1, d2), (d2, d3) and (d2, d4) as
depicted Fig. 6.
3) Using a protractor, θ1 was measured and the index
of refraction was calculated using the equation
above.

Experiment 11.5: Measurement of n using apparent depth

The fifth method for calculating n is by using apparent depth. Light rays coming from the bottom surface
of the prism refract at the top surface as the rays emerge from the prism into the air. When viewed from
above, the apparent depth (d) of the bottom surface of the prism is less than the actual thickness (t) of
the prism (see Fig. 7). The apparent depth or index of refraction is given by:
𝑡 𝑡
𝑑= 𝑜𝑟 𝑛=
𝑛 𝑑
1) A sheet of paper with a converging lens on top of it was placed parallel to the light source with five
light rays shining through the slit masks, as shown in Fig. 8a. The focal point was also marked.

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 2) The rhombus was then placed as depicted in Fig. 8b with the surface exactly at the focal point.
3) The outline of the rhombus was traced the points a1, a2, b1, b2, were marked and lines connecting
(a1, b1) and (a2, b2) were drawn. The point where these lines crossed was also marked and measured.
4) The thickness of the rhombus (t) and distance (d) were measured, which were used to determine n.

Data:

Table 11.1: Dispersion spectrum from a prism and the measurement of n using Snell’s law

Incident angle θ1 Refracted angle θ2 Index of refraction n

Orange Blue Orange Blue
47°
97° 92° 1.36 1.37

Table 11.2: Measurement of n using the minimum deviation from a prism

Index of Speed of light in Wavelength in Wavelength in

Line
Dm refraction the prism the vacuum the prism
color
n ν (m/s) λ0 (nm) λ (nm)
Orange 14° 1.29 2.33 x 108 576 448
Blue 16° 1.33 2.26 x 108 436 329

Table 11.3: Measurement of n using the principle of total internal reflection

Critical incident angle for internal reflection Index of refraction of the rhombus prism
2θc n
100° 1.31

Table 11.4: Measurement of n using the Brewster’s angle

Brewster’s angle (θ1 = θB) Index of refraction n

38° 1.28

Table 11.5: Measurement of n using apparent depth

Thickness Apparent depth Index of refraction

t (cm) d (cm) n
3.10 2.25 1.38

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Analysis:

The average of all the measured refractive indices of the prism from the five experiments is:

1.36 + 1.37 + 1.29 + 1.33 + 1.31 + 1.28 + 1.38

= 1.33
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As stated in the lab, the actual refractive index of the prism was approximately 1.33, which corresponds to a 0%
error for this experiment.

The method which produced the most accurate index of refraction was by measuring n using the principle of
total internal reflection. The least accurate method was by using the apparent depth, which is most likely due to
the number of manipulations and measurements required to calculate n (the more measurements needed, the
higher the chance of error).

The wavelength of a monochromatic light changes from λ0 to λ = λ0 /n when it propagates from air into an optical
medium such as glass. The frequency of the light does not change because at the boundary/interface of the
medium, the number of waves entering the medium is equivalent to the number of waves exiting the medium.
The size of the wave can fluctuate but the number of waves does not. Therefore, only wavelength and wave
speed change from one medium to the other.

According to the data from this experiment, the index of refraction depends on the color of light. The index
decreases as wavelength increases, with blue light traveling slower in transparent media than orange light. Blue
light is ‘bent’ more than orange light.

Internal reflection cannot occur at the air/glass interface because air is less dense than glass. Total internal
reflection requires light to travel from a higher-index medium toward lower-index medium. It does not happen
in the reverse direction.

The Brewster’s angle can occur at the air/glass interface because there are infinite ways that the incident and
refractive angle will add up to 90°. We can use the following equation to calculate the Brewster’s angle:
1
𝜃𝐵 = tan−1 ( )
𝑛

In experiment 11.3, the brightness of the reflected ray changed when the incident angle went from θ1 < θc to θ1
> θc, because when θ1 < θc, some of the incident ray reflected back while some of it refracted and traveled through
the prism to the air. When θ1 > θc, total internal reflection occurred which means that the incident ray reflected
100% of its light leading to maximum brightness. As a result, none of the light was refracted.

Swimming pool owners know that the pool always looks shallower than it really is. It is important to identify
the deep parts conspicuously so that people who can’t swim won’t jump into water that is over their heads. If a
person looks straight down into water that is actually 2.00 m deep, how deep does it appear to be? (nwater = 1.33).
2.00
𝑑= = 1.50 𝑚
1.33

The index of refraction of an optical material can be measured using the following methods: Snell’s law,
minimum deviation from a prism, principle of total internal reflection, Brewster’s angle, and apparent depth.

Conclusion:

After conducting this experiment, it can be concluded that the index of refraction can be measured in more than
just one way. These include using Snell’s law, minimum deviation from a prism, principle of total internal
reflection, Brewster’s angle, and apparent depth. The index of refraction depends on the color of light; as
wavelength increases, the index decreases. Therefore, it can be said that light at the end of the visible spectrum,

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such as violet, will travel slower in transparent media than light at the front of the spectrum, such as red. This
means that red light will have a lesser refractive index than any other color within the visible spectrum. Only
wavelength and wave speed change from one medium to the other - the frequency will remain constant.

As with most experiments, there were sources of error that contributed to slightly inaccurate data. A combination
of the low-intensity light beam from the light source and the relative lack of darkness within the laboratory may
have led to small miscalculations – it was difficult to distinguish between colors. Also, the pencils used for
tracing the prism’s shape had large, unsharpened tips, thus skewing the lines drawn by a considerable margin. If
we could have used larger prisms and larger-sized paper, the angles may have been more easily/accurately
measured.