Experiment No- 2

Refractive index

Objective:
The main objective of this experiment is to calibrate the pump

Apparatus:
 Refractive index Apparatus
 Beaker
 Stirrer

Chemical:
 Water
 Ethanol

Working Principle:
When light enters a material with a higher refractive index, the angle of refraction will be smaller
than angle of incidence and the light will be refracted towards the normal of the surface. The
higher the refractive index, the closer to the normal direction the light will travel.

Procedure:

 Wash the beakers and use them carefully.

 Abbe Refractometer is used for measuring refractive index.

 First measure the refractive index of pure ethanol.

 Then make 20 solutions of ethanol of different concentration and measure refractive

 After noting the all readings compare the results and plot a graph.

THEORY:

Refractive index:

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Refractive index is defined as:

“The ratio of the speed of light in a vacuum to its speed in a specific medium.”

Refractive index is also referred to as refraction index or index of refraction. The speed of
light in a medium depends on the properties of the medium. In electromagnetic waves, the speed
is dependent on the optical density of the medium. Optical density is the tendency of the atoms in
a material to restore the absorbed electromagnetic energy. The more optically dense material is,
the slower the speed of light. One such indicator of the optical density of a medium is the
refractive index.

Refractive Index Formula:

The refractive index is dimensionless. It is a number that indicates the number of times slower
than a light wave would be in the material than it is in a vacuum. The refractive index,
represented by symbol n, is the velocity of light in vacuum divided by the velocity of light in a
medium. The formula of the refractive index is as follows:

n=c/v
Where,

 n is the refractive index

 c is the velocity of light in a vacuum (3 × 108 m/s)

 v is the velocity of light in a substance

The vacuum has a refractive index of 1. The refractive index of other materials can be calculated
from the above equation. Higher the refractive index, the higher the optical density and slower is
the speed of light.

Refractive Index Example:

The refractive index of glass ng is 1.52 and refractive index of water nw is 1.33. Since the
refractive index of glass is higher than the water, the speed of light in water is faster than the

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speed of light through glass. If the refractive index of a medium is greater than that of another,
then the first medium is said to be optically denser.

Importance of Refractive Index:

The index of refraction is an important parameter used in optics to determine the angle by which
light is reflected and refracted through different materials. It is an intrinsic property that is
fundamental in the development of eyeglasses, contact lenses, and optical equipment such as
cameras and telescopes.

Abbe Refractometer:

Abbe refractometer is used to measure the refractive index in the lab.

A novel refractive index detector for liquid chromatography using a flowthrough Abbe
refractometer cell and image sensor is described. The Abbe refractometer has some advantages
such as independence of the intensity of the light, a wide dynamic range and a small cell volume
(less than 3.5 ~1). A linear diode array image sensor was used to determine the critical angle of
refraction. As the output of the sensor is essentially discrete, interpolation to locate accurately the
position of the boundary is required. The least-squares method was used in real time for this
purpose. A change in the refractive index of 10e5 units was detected with this apparatus.

Figure 1: Abbe Refractometer

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Observations and calculations:

Data:

Different concentrations
of Ethanol solution
Refractive index
(%)

Pure 1.385

95 1.382

90 1.379

85 1.378

80 1.358

75 1.3571

70 1.3561

65 1.351

60 1.3545

55 1.3532

50 1.3528

45 1.3511

40 1.3488

35 1.3479

30 1.345

25 1.3421

20 1.3379

15 1.335

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 10 1.3309

5 1.3288

0 (Pure water) 1.3269

Graph:

Refractive index vs Ethanol conc

1.345
1.34
1.335
1.33
1.325
1.32
1.315
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Ethanol conc %

Interpretation of results/ Discussion

There is a little bit difference in the experimental or observed values from literature values in
third or fourth decimal place. The refractive index of solution decreases with the decrease in the
composition of ethanol. In graph no 2 refractive index decreases when ethanol conc increases
and in graph no 1 refractive index increases when water conc increases.

Literature review:

Percent alcohol Refractive index

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 0 1.3327
10 1.3373
20 1.3438
30 1.3439
40 1.3539
50 1.3578
60 1.3605
70 1.3628
75 1.3631
80 1.363
90 1.3619
92 1.3616
94 1.3613
95 1.3611
96 1.3607
98 1.3604
100 1.3595

The above table shows the literature data of refractive index of different compositions of ethanol
solution at ambient conditions. We will compare our experimental values with the literature data.

Literature Comparison and discussion:

Refractive index values for ethanol-water mixture found on internet sources are close to the
values found through experiment in lab. The readings and graph found on internet sources are
given below. Both literature values and experimental results show that the refractive index
increases as the concentration of ethanol increases in the mixture, until it reaches a value of
about 85%. After that, it starts decreasing till pure ethanol.

Sources of error:

The errors may be due to:

 Observation of inexperienced person

 Formation of solutions of different compositions

 Intensity of light on the specimen plate

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  Imperfect working of instrument

Conclusion:

We performed this experiment in a right way and found different values of refractive indexes for
different compositions. The refractive index of pure ethanol and water is 1.358 and 1.320
respectively.

References:
 Sobral, H., & Peña-Gomar, M. (2015). Determination of the refractive index of glucose-ethanol-
water mixtures using spectroscopic refractometry near the critical angle. Applied optics, 54(28),
8453-8458.
 Iglesias-Otero, M. A., Troncoso, J., Carballo, E., & Romani, L. (2008). Density and refractive
index in mixtures of ionic liquids and organic solvents: Correlations and predictions. The Journal
of Chemical Thermodynamics, 40(6), 949-956.