Junior Honours - Experimental Physics

Refractive Index and Dispersion: Prism

Spectrometer
1 Objectives
• To determine the variation of refractive index of three different equilateral prisms as
a function of wavelength
• To compare the experimental data with the classical dispersion equation and to
determine the natural frequency of oscillation ω◦
• To determine the Abbé number of each of the equilateral prisms
• To demonstrate the factors which determine the resolving power of a prism spec-
trometer

2 Introduction
When light propagates through a dense transparent medium (e.g. glass) the interaction
varies with the wavelength of the light. The response can be described classically in terms
of the response of N oscillators each of mass me and each having an electric charge qe . The
outcome is a formula – a dispersion equation – for the refractive index n(ω), where ω is
the angular frequency of the incident light:
N q2 1
n2 (ω) = 1 +
ε◦ me (ω◦2 − ω 2 )
ε◦ is the vacuum permittivity and ω◦ the oscillator’s natural frequency of oscillation. Re-
casting ithe dispersion equation as an explicit function of λ, where ω = 2πc/λ:

(n2 − 1)−1 = C(−λ−2 + λ−2

◦ ) = −Cλ
−2
+ Cλ−2
◦

This is the equation of a straight line (y = mx + c), for which m/c = −λ2◦ .

3 Experiment
The prism spectrometer can used to measure the refractive index at a given wavelength
using the formula

sin[(A + Dmin )/2]

n=
sin(A/2)
 where A is the prism angle and Dmin is angle of minimum deviation for that wavelength.
The spectrometer is a precision instrument and is easily capable of measuring the refractive
to an accuracy of four significant figures.
The dispersive power of a material is usually characterised by its Abbé number which
is defined as
nd − 1
V =
nF − n C
where nd is the refractive index for the Helium d-line (587.56nm), nF the refractive
index for the Fraunhofer (Hydrogen) F-line (486.13nm) and nC the refractive index for the
Fraunhofer (Hydrogen) C-line (656.27nm).
The resolving power of a prism is given by the expression
λ dn
=d
δλ dλ
where d is the difference in path length between the extreme light paths through the
prism (see figure 1). Using your experimental data for the three prisms determine whether
it is possible to resolve the Sodium D-line doublet (589nm) and demonstrate this experi-
mentally.
y

Parallel beam n
from Collimator

x
d=x−y

Figure 1: Resolving power of a prism.

4 References
1. E.Hecht, Optics, Addison Wesley, Fourth Edition

2. Pilkington Optical Glass Catalogue

http://www.ph.ed.ac.uk/ td/JHlab/Experiments/prism/opticalglasscatalogue.pdf

3. NIST Handbook of Basic Spectroscopic Data

http://physics.nist.gov/PhysRefData/Handbook/index.html

2
 Turntable
Refracting Edge

Z
Adjustable slit
Collimator A
3 1
Light source Graduated scale
Prism
X

Achromatic 2 Y
lenses Telescope

Crosswires
Eyepiece

Figure 2: Schematic diagram of the prism spectrometer.

Spectrometer Setup
1. Remove prism from the turntable.

2. Position the instrument so that the telescope can be pointed at some distant object
(e.g. the end of the corridor).

3. Adjust the eyepiece of the telescope (it slides in and out) until the crosswires are in
focus.

4. Focus the telescope on the distant object.

5. Position the instrument on the laboratory bench - ensure that you can see through
the telescope when it is at least 60 degrees to either side of the principal axis of the
collimator.

6. Position a discharge lamp close to the slit at the end of the collimator.

7. Rotate the telescope so that it faces the collimator and you can observe the slit image.
Adjust the collimator only until the slit image is in focus.

8. Adjust the slit width until its image is just wider than the crosswires.

3
Turntable Setup
The rotation axis of the turntable should be perpendicular to the plane containing the
principal axes of the telescope and collimator.

1. Place a prism on the centre of the turntable such that one face is approximately
perpendicular to a line joining level adjustment screws 1 and 2.

2. Adjust the height of the turntable until the collimator is centred on the vertical
dimension of the prism.

3. Rotate the turntable and telescope until a refracted slit image is observed. If the
image is not in the centre of the field of view, the refracting edge of the prism is
not parallel to the axis of rotation of the telescope and the turntable will need to be
levelled’.

4. Rotate turntable and telescope so that a reflected slit image can be observed from
face XY. Adjust screw 2 until the reflected slit image is in the centre of the field of
view.

5. Rotate turntable (but not the telescope) so that a reflected slit image can be observed
from face YZ. Adjust screw 3 until the reflected slit image is in the centre of the field
of view.

Measurement of Angle A of Prism

For this part of the experiment any type of light may be used.

1. Rotate turntable until the refracting edge of the prism is approximately pointing
towards the collimator. Light from the collimator will be reflected from both sides
of the prism.

2. Rotate the telescope until the first of the reflected slit images is centred on the
crosswires. Record the angle of the telescope.

3. Rotate the telescope until the second of the reflected slit images is centred on the
crosswires. Record the angle of the telescope.

4. The angle between the two telescope positions is twice the prism angle A.

5. Rotate the turntable by a few degrees.

6. Repeat steps 2—5 at least four times to obtain a ‘best’ estimate of prism angle A.

4
Measurement of the Minimum Angle of Deviation Dmin
For this part of the experiment light of the wavelength at which n is to be measured is
required.

1. Rotate the turntable and telescope until light will pass approximately symmetrically
through the prism (see figure 2)

2. Rotate the telescope until the succession of views shown in figure 3 is observed as
the turntable is rotated consistently in the same direction. Record the angle of the
telescope.

3. Rotate the turntable by approximately 120 degrees so that the refracting edge of the
prism is pointing in the opposite direction.

4. Rotate the telescope until light will pass approximately symmetrically through the
prism.

5. Rotate the telescope until the succession of views shown in figure 3 is observed as
the turntable is rotated consistently in the same direction. Record the angle of the
telescope.

6. The angle between the two telescope positions is twice the minimum deviation angle
Dmin .

7. Repeat steps 1—6 several times to obtain a best estimate for the minimum deviation
angle Dmin .

8. Repeat steps 1—7 for light of different wavelengths.

Image just
Slit image reaches centre Image recedes

Crosswires

1 2 3 4 5

Figure 3: Successive views as the turntable is rotated through the angle of minimum
deviation.