REFRACTION OF LIGHT THROUGH A PRISM

Prism is a homogeneous transparent refracting medium bounded by at

least two non- parallel surfaces inclined at some angle. In prism ABC the
two non-parallel surfaces are AB and AC and angle between these two
surfaces is called angle of prism.

Aim
To trace the path of the rays of light through a glass prism.

Theory

 A prism has a triangular base and three triangular lateral surfaces.

These surfaces are inclined to each other.
Refraction of light through a prism
 In the given figure, ABC represents the base of a glass prism. Let PE
be the incident ray of light on face AB of the prism. EF represents the
 bending of light when it enters the prism and hence show the
refraction of light.
 RS is the emergent ray at face AC of the prism.
The angle D shows the angle of deviation.
The ∠BAC of the prism is called the angle of the prism and it is
denoted by ‘A’.

Materials Required
A white sheet, soft board, thumb pins, 4-6 all pins, prism, pencil, scale,
protractor, drawing board.

Procedure

1. Fix a white sheet on a drawing board using drawing pins.

2. Place a glass prism on it in such a way that it rests on its triangular
base. Trace the outline of the prism using a pencil.
3. Draw a thin line NEN normal (perpendicular) to face AB of the prism.
Also draw a straight line PE making an angle preferably between 30°
and 60° as shown in figure.
4. Fix two pins at a distance of 5 cm from each other on the line PE as
shown in the figure, later mark these points of pins as P and Q.
5. Look at the images of the pins, fixed at P and Q, through the other
face of the prism, i.e., AC.
6. Fix two more pins, at points R and S vertically such that the feet of
pins at R and S appear to be on the same straight line as the feet of
the images of the pins P and Q when viewed through the face AC of
the prism.
7. Remove the pins and the glass prism.
8. Join and produce a line joining R and S, let this line meet the prism at
point F.
9. Extend the direction of incident ray PQE till it meets the face AC. Also
extend (backwards) the emergent ray SRF so that these two lines
meet at a point G.
10. Mark the angle of incidence ∠i, angle of refraction ∠r and the
angle of emergence ∠e and ∠D as shown in the figure.
11. Repeat the experiment for more angle of incidence preferably
between 30° and 60°.
Observations

1. The light ray enters the prism at surface AB, bends towards the
normal on refraction.
2. At surface AC of the prism, this light ray bends away from the normal
because it travels from a glass to air.
3. The peculiar shape of the prism makes the emergent ray bend at an
angle to the direction of the incident ray. This angle is called the angle
of deviation (∠D).

Conclusion

1. The light ray, i.e., the incident ray first bends towards the normal when
it gets refracted in the prism and while leaving the prism it bends away
from the normal.
2. The angle of deviation first decreases with the increase in angle of
incidence ∠i. It attains a minimum value then increases with further
increase in angle of incidence.

Angle of deviation of a ray of light is defined as the angle between the

direction of incident ray of light and the emergent ray of light.
DISPERSION OF WHITE LIGHT BY A GLASS PRISM

When white light passes through a glass prism, we get a band of seven colours on
a white screen. The colours are violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange and
red(VIBGYOR) The band of the coloured components of a light beam is called its
spectrum. The phenomenon of splitting white light into seven colours when it
passes through a glass prism is called dispersion of white light.
Cause of Dispersion

White light consists of seven colours: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and
violet. Each colour has its own wavelength. Red has longest and the violet has the
shortest wavelength. The speed of light depends on the wavelength or colour of
the light.( directly proportional). Different colours of light bend through different
angles with respect to the incident ray, as they pass through a prism. So red light
bends the least due to the maximum speed while the violet the most. Thus the
rays of each colour emerge along different paths and thus become distinct.

RECOMBINATION OF THE SPECTRUM OF WHITE LIGHT

DISPERSION OF LIGHT IN NATURE--- RAINBOW FORMATION

A rainbow is the natural spectrum appearing in the sky after a rain shower.lt is
always formed in a direction opposite to that of the sun. The water droplets act
like small prisms. They refract and disperse the incident sunlight, then reflect it
internally and finally refract it again when it comes out of the raindrop and
different colours reach observer’s eye.

The major three processes involved in rainbow formation are

1. Refraction of light

2. Dispersion of light

3. Internal reflection of light.

ATMOSPHERIC REFRACTION

The refraction of light caused by the earth’s atmosphere having air layers of
varying optical densities is called atmospheric refraction.
Twinkling of stars, advanced sunrise, delayed sunset etc are due to atmospheric
refraction.

Twinkling of stars.

It is due to atmospheric refraction. As the light of stars enter the earth ‘s

atmosphere undergoes refraction continuously till it enters the observers eye .

As a result the apparent position of star will be slightly different from its actual
position. Thus, the stars appear slightly above than their actual positions in the
sky. The fluctuation in the positions of the stars occurs continuously due to the
changing amount of light entering the eye .Thus stars sometimes appear brighter
and at other times, they appear fainter. This causes twinkling of star.

Advanced sunrise and delayed sunset.

Actual sun sets when it is below the horizon in the evening. The rays of light from
the sun below the horizon reach our eyes because of refraction of light. These
rays appear to come from apparent position of the sun which is above the
horizon. Hence we can the sun for two minutes more even after it has actually
set. Similarly, the sun can be seen about two minutes before it actually rises.

SCATTERING OF LIGHT

When a ray of light passes through a path of suspended particles , it splits up in

various random directions. Such a phenomenon is known as scattering of light.
Scattering of light depends on 1) the size of the suspended particles and 2)
wavelength of light.
SOME IMPORTANT PHENOMENA DUE TO SCATTERING OF LIGHT.

Tyndall effect

When light passes through the air , the tiny particles(dust, smoke, water droplets
etc ) make the path of light visible. This phenomenon is known as tyndall effect.

Eg when sunlight passes through a canopy of a dense forest . the tiny water
droplets in the mist scatter light.

Why does the colour of the sky look blue?

The clear sky appears blue, since the blue component of white light is scattered
more by the air molecules and other component present in the atmosphere .the
sunlight is a combination of seven colours in which blue has the shorter
wavelength which scatter faster in comparison to red having longer wavelength .t
The scattered blue light our eyes.

Experiment
COLOUR OF SUN AT SUNRISE AND SUNSET

During sunrise/ sunset the sun is near the horizon, light passes through
larger distance in the earth’ atmosphere. Most of the blue light and
shorter wavelength are scattered away by the particles .The red light
has longer wavelength does not get scattered and reaches our eyes.
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