A Formal Physics Laboratory Report

EXPERIMENT
REPORT LAB 8:

MEASURING REFRACTIVE INDEX OF GLASS USING

MICROSCOPE

Class: CC19 - Group: 1 Lecturer’s comment

Full name:
1. Tăng Gia Bảo – 2152429
2. Lê Dương Khánh Huy – 2153380
3. Nguyễn Lê Anh Tuấn – 2153079

I.Aims/Purposes:
- Measuring refractive index of glass using microscope.
II. Equipment, Methods, and Procedure:
1. Equipment:
- Microscope which has objective lens’ magnification at x4, x10, x100 and
eyepieces lens magnification at x10, x16, accuracy 0.002mm.
- Panme ruler 0 ÷ 25mm, precision 0.01mm.
- Thin film that needs to measure refractive index.
2. Theory:
- Measuring the focal length of convergent lens optical center of the lens is
usually not the real center lens. Therefore, it is difficult to measure the focal
length f of the lens based on the forrmular 12.2. to overcome this problem, we
can take advantages of the follow:

- Consider narrow beam HAS from the point S located under the thin glass
(Figure 1): Ray SH propagates through the film to the air in the direction HI
perpendicularly with the upper surface of the film and ray SA propagates out of
the film in the direction AB after being refracted at the point A. S1 is the
intersecting point of line HI and line AB. Therefore, S1 is the illusionary point
 of S through the thin film. Distance from to the upper surface of thin film is d =
SH, which is the thickness of the film and the so-called effective distance of the
thin film is the distance from illusionary point S1 to the upper surface of thin
film, which is d1 = S1H. From Figure 1, we easily obtain:

- Due to the fact that light beam HAS is narrow, the points H, A are near each
other, and the angles i, r are small relatively. Using approximation, we have:
sin i = tan i, sin r ≈ tan r (3)
- Dividing (1) by (2), and taking into account (3), we have:

- On the other hand, using the law of refraction (Snell’s law) for ray SAB
propagating through the film at point A located in the upper surface of the film,
(4) becomes:

- with n is the refractive index of given thin film (n>1). Making a comparison of
(4) and (5), we easily find that:

- Formula (6) shows that the real thickness d of given thin film is larger n times
than its effective thickness d1. In this exercise, we will measure the refractive
index n of the thin film by using panme ruler to measure the real thickness d
and microscope to measure its effective thickness d1.
3. Procedure
1. Measuring the real thickness by using the Panme ruler following the
formula:
d=0.5 K + 0.01m(mm)
With: K :thetotal lines , k ≠ 0
m: the total number of matching side lines

2. Measuring the effective thickness of given thin film via microscope

- Before measuring the effective thickness d 1:
+ Clean the surface of the given thin film by providing materials. Using
pen and drawing “│” on the upper surface of thin film and “—” on the other
side of the thin film to form a plus +.
+ Place the thin film on specimen stage and hold it by the slice holder.
Adjusting the microscope accordingly
- Measure the effective thickness d 1:
+ Then rotate the dial so that we can see the image sharpness of the “—”
line. Write down the position of the ring ruler corresponding to the mark l0 on
the ring ruler.
+ Next, rotate the dial reversely (counter-clockwise) and count the number
of rounds N of the ring ruler until we have sharp image of the “—” line. Read
and write down the final position of the ring ruler with the number of rounds N
and its mark l.

III. Equations
- Mean refractive index:
d
n=
d1
- Relative error:
∆ n ∆ d ∆ d1
= +
n d d1
● d measurement error: d=d sys +d (mm)
● d 1measurement error: d 1=d1 sys+ d 1 (mm)

IV. Experimental data

Table 1
- Accuracy of the micrometer caliper: 0.01(mm)
- Accuracy of the microscope’s rotary ruler: 0.002(mm)
Effective thickness d1 (mm) Real thickness d(mm)
N l0 l d1 Δd1 k m d Δd

1 8 14 90 1.676 0.0252 5 36 2.86 0.002

2 8 152 64 1.712 0.0108 5 37 2.87 0.008

3 8 128 32 1.704 0.0028 5 36 2.86 0.002

4 8 30 178 1.748 0.0468 5 36 2.86 0.002

5 8 150 16 1.666 0.0352 5 36 2.86 0.002

Avg. 1.7012 0.0242 2.862 0.0032

Precision of the Panme Ruler = 0.01 (mm)
Precision of the Microscope Ring Ruler = 0.002 (mm)
d = 0.5k + 0.01m = 0.5 × 5 + 0.01 × 36 = 2.86 (mm)
d1 = 0.2N + 0.001(l − l0) = 0.2 × 8 + 0.001 × (90 − 14) = 1.676 mm (if l > l0)
Or d1 = 0.2N + 0.001(l + 200 − l 0) = 0.2 × 8 + 0.001 × (64 + 200 − 152) = 1.712 mm
(if l < l0)
n

∑ d1 i 1.676+ 1.712+1.704 +1.748+1.666

i=1
d 1= = =1.7012 ( mm )
n 5
∆ d1 i=|d 1 i−d 1 i|=|1.676−1.7012|=0.0252 ( mm )
n

∑|d 1i −d 1 i| 0.0252+ 0.0108+ 0.0028+0.0468+0.0352

∆ d1 = i=1 = =0.0242 ( mm )
n 5
n

∑ d1 i 2.86+2.87+2.86+ 2.86+2.86
i=1
d= = =2.862 ( mm )
n 5
∆ di =|d i−d|=|2.86−2.862|=0. 002 ( mm )
n

∑ |d i−d i| 0.002+0.008+0.002+ 0.002+ 0.002

i=1
∆ d= = =0.003 ( mm )
n 5
V. Calculation:
∆ d=∆ d sys+ ∆ d=0.01+ 0.003=0.013(mm)

∆ d1 =∆ d 1sys +∆ d 1=0.002+0.0242=0.0262( mm)

d 2.862
n= = =1.682
d 1 1.7012

∆ n ∆ d ∆ d 1 0.013 0.0262
= + = + =0.020
n d d 1 2.862 1.7012
∆n
⟹ ∆ n=n × =0.020× 1.682=0.034
n
Result:

n=n ± ∆ n=¿ 1.682 ± 0.034

VI. Questions
1. State the law of refraction. Draw the illustration image.

Consider a light-ray incident on a plane interface between two transparent

dielectric media, labeled 1 and 2, as shown in Figure. The law of refraction
states that the incident ray, the refracted ray, and the normal to the interface, all
lie in the same plane. Furthermore,

where is the angle subtended between the incident ray and the normal to the
interface, and is the angle subtended between the refracted ray and the normal
to the interface. The quantities are termed the refractive indices of media 1 and
2, respectively. Thus, the law of refraction predicts that a light-ray always
deviates more towards the normal in the optically denser medium: i.e., the
medium with the higher refractive index. Note that in the figure. The law of
refraction also holds for non-planar interfaces, provided that the normal to the
interface at any given point is understood to be the normal to the local tangent
plane of the interface at that point.

2. Explain the mechanism of image forming of a light point when viewing

through the parallel thin film. Show the properties of the image.

Consider narrow beam HAS from the point S located under the thin glass
(Figure 1): Ray SH propagates through the film to the air in the direction HI
perpendicularly with the upper surface of the film and ray SA propagates out of
the film in the direction AB after being refracted at the point A. is the
intersecting point of line HI and line AB. Therefore, is the illusionary point of
S through the thin film.

3. Define the effective thickness of the thin film. Show the relation of refractive
index of the given thin film and its effectiveness.

Distance from to the upper surface of thin film is 𝑑 = 𝑆𝐻, which is the
thickness
of the film and the so-called effective distance of the thin film is the distance
from

illusionary point to the upper surface of thin film, which is = 𝐻

From Figure 1, we easily obtain

Due to the fact that light beam HAS is narrow, the points H, A are near each

other, and the angles 𝑖, 𝑟 are small relatively. Using approximation, we have:

Dividing (1) by (2), and taking into account (3), we have:

On the other hand, using the law of refraction (Snell’s law) for ray SAB

propagating through the film at point A located in the upper surface of the film,

(4) becomes:

with n is the refractive index of given thin film (n>1). Making a comparison of
(4) and (5), we easily find that:
Formula (6) shows that the real thickness 𝑑 of given thin film is larger n times

than its effective thickness 𝑑1.

4. Describe the components of the panme ruler and how to use it

The micrometer caliper, invented by William Gascoigne in the 17th century, is

typically used to measure very small thicknesses and diameters of wires and
spheres. It consists of a screw of pitch 0.5mm, a main scale and another scale
engraved around a thimble which rotates with the screw and moves along the
scale on the barrel. The barrel scale is divided into millimeters, on some
instruments, such as ours, a supplementary scale shows half millimeters.

The thimble scale has 50 divisions. Since one complete turn of the thimble will
produce an axial movement of 0.5mm. One scale division movement of the
thimble past the axial line of the scale on the barrel is equivalent to 1/100 times
1.0 equals 0.01mm. Hence readings may be taken directly to one hundredth of a
millimeter and by estimation (of tenths of a thimble scale division) to a
thousandth of a millimeter.
The object to be measured is inserted between the end of the screw (the spindle)
and the anvil on the other leg of the frame. The thimble is then rotated until the
object is gripped gently. A ratchet at the end of the thimble serves to close the
screw on the object with a light and constant force. The beginner should always
use the ratchet when making a measurement in order to avoid too great a force
and possible damage to the instrument.

The measurement is made by noting the position of the edge of the thimble on
the barrel scale and the position of the axial line of the barrel on the thimble
scale and adding the two readings. The micrometer should always be checked
for a zero error. This is done by rotating the screw until it comes in contact with
the anvil (use the ratchet) and then noting whether the reading on the thimble
scale is exactly zero. If it is not, then this "zero error" must be allowed for in all
readings

To read a measurement (Fig. 6), simply add the number of half-millimeters to

the number of hundredths of millimeters. In the example below, we have
2.620±0.005mm, that is 5 half millimeters and 12 hundredths of a millimeter. If
two adjacent tick marks on the moving barrel look equally aligned with the
reading line on the fixed barrel, then the reading is halfway between the two
marks.

5. Describe the microscope and how to use it to measure the effective thickness
of the thin film.
Microscope is an optical instrument to observe the microscale object via
magnification. It includes: ocular lens (1) upper the eyepieces (2), the objective
turret (3) which holds multiple objective lenses (4), slice holder (5) upper the
specimen stage (6), light control dial (8) to alternate the iris diaphragm and
condenser (7) upper the refractive mirror (9), the dial (13), and (14) are used for
alternating the coarse focus and fine focus respectively via changing the focal
length of eyepieces (2) to have an sharp image of specimen, dial (12) to clamp
the dial (13) and (14), rubber ring (15) for holding dial (13). All the microscope
component is placed on the body (10) and the base (11)

Second, before measuring the effective thickness 𝑑1, we need to prepare the
microscope and specimen as follows:

i. Clean the surface of the given thin film by providing materials (soft
materials). Use the needle pen to draw a vertical line (a) on the upper surface of
thin film and horizontal line (b) on the other side of the thin film to form a plus
+ on the surface of the given thin film, line length is 2mm.

ii. Place the thin film on specimen stage (6) (the (a) line should be on top) and
hold it by the slice holder (5). Have a view outside and rotate the dial (13) to
move the objective lens (4) near the surface of the thin film. Notice that you

should place the thin film in the position that the plus + is aligned on the
opposite side of the objective lenses (4).

Now we can measure the effective thickness 𝑑1 as follows:

i. Have a look in the eyepieces (1). Alternating the iris diaphragm and
condenser

(7), the refractive mirror (9) to archive the homogeneous brightness of the

viewfield. Rotate the dial (13) to have a sharp image of the line (b) of the upper

surface of the thin film. Then rotate the dial (14) to refine the image sharpness
of the line (b). Write down the position of the ring ruler corresponding to the
mark l0 on the opposite site of the mark Ñ of the microscope body.

ii. Next, rotate the dial (14) reversely (counter-clockwise) to raise the (2) higher,
and count the number of rounds N of the ring ruler (number of the mark 0 of the
ring ruler passing the mark Ñ) until we have sharp image of the vertical line (a).
Read and write down the final position of the ring ruler with the number of
rounds N and its mark l, which is the opposite site of mark Ñ.
Finally, the effective thickness of the thin film can be measured via the
following equation: