CONSTANT DEVIATION SPECTROGRAPH (CDS)

Objective – Calibrate the CDS using a Hg lamp and to calculate the Rydberg constant and series
limit of Balmer series using a Hydrogen lamp

Apparatus used – Hg lamp, H lamp, constant deviation prism, CDS spectrograph

Formula used –

1
λ [
1 1
=R H 2 − 2
n1 n2 ]
n1 takes the value 2 for Balmer series while n2 takes the values – 3, 4, 5, …

Experimental setup

1. Collimating tube & Telescope tube (Mat: Brass Pipe) O.D: 51mm I.D:44mm it is provided
with rack & pinion arrangement.

2. Slit Ht: 11mm maximum opening: 5mm the jews of the slite are opticallyt ground it is
provided with Halfmann’s Diaphragm.

3. Eye piece (Ramsden Type) magnification 10x in eye piece holder a conical pointer is fitted in
the focal plane of eye piece.

4. Corrected achromatic Doublet lens Doublet dia: 44mm: F.L 350mm.

5. C.D.S prism Refractive Index: i. e. μ = 1.658 Angles: 90O, 75O, 130O, 65O angles Accuracy:
± 10 surface flatness of three polished faces better then λ /10 top & bottom of prism are
fine ground.

6. Machined cast iron plate with drum assembly is fitted over the head of a heavy cast iron base.
Procedure

1. Put the right-angle plate of (Constant deviation spectrograph) on a base & fix with the help
of the three screws.

2. Now fix the telescope tube & collimating tube in the bracket and tighten it with the help of
four screws.

3. Open the slit (About-1.5 to 2mm wide) with the help of find threaded screw attached to the
slit.
 4. Bring the pointer on the drum at 5460 Å and rotate the prism manually so that the pointer
coincides with the GREEN line.

5. Fix the CDS Prism in this position. Calibration is complete.

6. Rotate the drum and measure the wavelengths of other desired lines (Red, Yellow, etc.) and
calculate the error.

7. Replace the Hg lamp with Hydrogen lamp and perform the experiment (as described below)
for the Hydrogen Balmer lines.

Principle

A constant deviation spectrometer makes use of a special type of prism as shown in the figure 1. One
portion ABC is one half of a 60 O prism and the other portion BCD is 45O prism. ADE is also one half
of a 60O prism. Therefore, in this prism ∠ ABD=75O.

Suppose PQ is the incident ray such that The refracted ray QR is parallel to AD. The ray QR strikes
the face BD at an angle Of 45O and is totally
internally reflected along RS. The ray finally
emerges in the direction ST. In this case, the angle
of incidence = angle of emergence = θ . Thus, the
ray of light passes through this prism similar to a
60O prism in the minimum deviation position. The
advantage of this arrangement is that the rays PQ
and ST are normal to each other.

A constant deviation spectrometer has a collimator

and a telescope fixed to a rigid stand such that they
are mutually perpendicular to one another (Fig.2)
The prism P is placed on a table which can be rotated about a vertical axis with the help of a drum D.
A is a spring which allows the lever B to more when the drum D is rotated. The drum D has a
graduated scale, which is calibrated and the index C shows the wavelengths of different lines
directly.
Tables

For calibration using Hg lamp

Red Orange Yellow Green Light green Blue Violet

(reddish)

6908 6234 5790 5460 4916 4358 4046

Hydrogen spectrum

Hydrogen line Colour Wavelength (Å)

H-α Red 6563

H-β Bluish green 4861

H-γ Blue 4340

H-δ Violet 4107

1. Calculate the Rydberg constant(s) using the above data (it may be that the H-δ line is not visible
sometimes due to poor resolution/intensity).

2. Plot 1/λ versus 1/n2 on a graph sheet which gives a straight line. From this plot, you should be able
to calculate the Rydberg constant.

3. Using the above graph calculate the Balmer series limit.

The End