To find the refractive index of (a) water (b) oil using a plane mirror and an equiconvex lens and
an adjustable object needle.
In opties, the refractive index (a.k.a. refraction index) of an optical medium is a dimensionless number that indicates the light-bending ability of
that medium. The refractive index determines how much the path of light is bent, or refracted when entering a material. This is described by
Snell's law of refraction, n Sino,= n Sinnz,
Where,
6 Anglesof incidence
02 Angle of refraction.
Respectively of a ray crossing the interface between two media with refractive indices n and n
To find the refractive index of water, oil using a plane mirror and an equiconvex lens and an adjustable object needle.
Materials Required
7
Convex lens
Plane mirror
Water
Oil
Clamp stand
AnOptical needle
Plumb line
Knitting needle
KNOWLEDGE CYCLE
Half meter Scale
Glass slab
Spherometer
THEORY
Iff and 2 be the focal length of glass convex lens and liquid lens and F be the focal length of their combination then,
Liquid lens formed is a planoconcave lens with R R(radius of curvature of convex lens surface) R2=00
CYCLB
Where,
n = Refractive index of the liquid
RThe radius of the curvature of the convex lens.
The radius of the lower surface of the convex lens is given by:
R=+ 6h 2
Here, I is the average distance between the legs of the spherometer and h is the difference in the reading of the spherometer when placed first
on the convex lens and then on plane mirror
PROCEDURE
(a) For focal length of convex lens:
1. Find the rough focal length of the convex lens.
2. Place a plane mirror on the horizontal base of the iron stand and then a convex lens on the plane mirror.
3. Hold the needle in the clamp stand and adjust its position on the stand such that there is no parallax between tip of the needle and
- 4. Measure distance between tip and upper surface of t the lens by using a plumb line and half meter scale. Also measure the distance
between tip of needle and upper surface of the mirror. Take the mean of the two readings. This means distance will be equal to the focal length
of the convex lens (fi).
10
(6) For focal length of the combination.
5. Put a few drops of the water on the plane mirror and put the convex lens over it with its same face above as before. The water spreads in a
form of layer and acts like a Plano-concave lens.
6. Repeat the steps 3 and 4 to determine the equivalent focal length of the combination.
7. Record the observation.
8. Repeat the steps 5, 6, 7 for other transparent liquid (oil).
c) For radius of curvature of convex lens surface:
9. Determine the pitch and the least count of the spherometer.
10. Remove the convex lens and dry it completely. Put the spherometer on this lens surface.
11. All the three legs of the spherometer should be placed symmetrically on the lens and adjust the central screw tip to touch the surface of the
lens
12. Remove the spherometer from the surface of the lens and place on the plane mirror surface and record the reading
13. Repeat the steps 10 and 11 three times.
14. Obtain the impressions of the three legs of the spherometer on a paper and mark them and their average distance.
1= 4+12+13 3
