Try it on paper first. A hint, the key idea and the worked solution are here when you need them.
In a spectrometer experiment a student measures a glass prism with an angle of . She finds a minimum deviation of for yellow light. Find the refractive index of the glass, the angle of incidence at minimum deviation, and the angle of refraction inside the prism. She then fills a hollow prism of angle with a liquid and finds a minimum deviation of . Find the refractive index of the liquid.
For a prism, and . At minimum deviation, and . For a thin prism, , and the dispersive power is . A ray can leave a face only if the angle inside is smaller than the critical angle, .
Have you tried it?
Work it out on paper first. It is fine to get stuck or make a mistake: that is how we learn. When you are ready, go through the solution one step at a time, and check each step against your own.
Step 1. The angles. and .
Step 2. The glass. .
Step 3. The liquid. and . So .
Answer: , , and .
Check. Both values are in the usual range for glass and for a dense liquid.
Log in to join the discussion.
Loading…