Experiment 19-Refractive index of prism

Experiment 19.1:Use pin method to measure refractive index of prism.

（l)Experiment Purpose:
1. Determine the refractive index of dispersive prism
2. Prove that when the deviation angle is the smallest, the emergent
angle is equal to the incident angle i2 = i1

（ll）Experimental principle: (Draw the Figure)

Angle A in Figure 19.1 is the angle of the prism, i 1 is the angle of
incidence, i2 is the emergent angle, and r1 and r2 are the refraction
angles of the two interfaces, and the angle d between the light incident
on the prism and the light emerged from the prism is the deviation angle
where A = r1 + r2
d = (i1-r1) + (i2-r2)
= i1 + 12- (r1 + r2)
= i1 + i2-A
i2 = d + A - i1
When the incident angle is equal to the emergent angle, that is, i1 = i2,
the deviation angle is a minimum value. At this time r1 will also be equal
to r2, and the light will pass through the prism symmetrically.

A = r1 + r2 = 2r , therefore r = A / 2 ;
dmin = 2i-A ,then i = dmin + A / 2
The refractive index of the triangular prism is
n = sini / sinr
= sin(dmin + A / 2) / sin(A / 2)

(lll)Experiment equipment:

equipment specification amount

1 Prism Equilateral Prism 1
2 Light needle 5cm 6
3 Protractor 1
4 Clay suitable
5 Ruler 30cm 1
6 Paper A4(pad polyurethane board a few
on bottom)

(IV) Experimental steps:

1. Place the prism on a piece of white paper and draw the outline ABC
with a sharp pencil. A small piece of clay is attached to the prism to
mark the corner A.
2. Remove the prism, make an incident ray with a shooting angle i of 35°
on the AB surface, and insert two optical pins P, Q on the line (the Q
needle is as close to the AB surface of the prism as possible, and the P
needle is far away from the Q needle).
3. Put back the prism, observe the two optical pins P and Q from the AC
surface, and insert two optical pins R and S to make the image of S, R
and Q, P be a straight line (that is, the image of Q, P is R And S are
completely covered). The distance between the two optical needles of R
and S must also be as far away as possible.
4. Remove the prism, connect R, S, and extend PQ and SR so that they
intersect at one point.
5. Measure the deviation angle d with a protractor and record it in Table
19.1.
6. Repeat steps 2 to 5 to change the shooting angle i, = 40°, 45°, 50°,
55°, 60°, 65°, 70°, measure each deviation angle d, and record it in
Table 19.1. (In order to make the picture less complicated, each figure
can be made into two figures, and a total of four pictures can be made
separately.)
7. Measure the prism angle A and record it.
8. Using d as the vertical coordinate and i as the horizontal coordinate,
draw a linear graph of d relative to i. Connect the points with smooth
curves. Calculate the exit angle i2 at that time.
9. Calculate the refractive index of the prism.

（v) Result of experiment:

Angle of prism =____±____。
 Angle of incidence i1±_____ Deviation angle d±_____
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

From the graph, the minimum deivation angle,d min =__________;

the regarding incident angle,i1=__________;
the regarding emergent angle,i2=__________;

The refractive index of prism,n = __________;

(Kindly Attach the drawing images)

(6)Precautions:
a)Use monocular observation when pinning, otherwise, the observation
will not be accurate as the two needles will not be on the same straight
line of the incident ray.
b)When observing through a triangular prism, the pin of the needle shall
prevail.

(7)Discussion:
a) What is the relationship between the incident angle and the emergent
angle when the minimum deviation angle occurs?
b) How does the light pass through the prism when the minimum
deviation angle occurs?