Title: THEORY OF THE DETERMINATION OF REFRACTIVE INDEX BY THE TOTAL INTERNAL REFLECTION METHOD
Abstract: The total internal reflection method is a standard method by which the refractive index of the material of a prism and that of a liquid are determined in' elementary physics laboratories. This method involves illumination of the matt surface of a prism, mounted on a spectrometer table, with monocromatic light and looking at one of the polished surfaces of the prism through the telescope of the spectrometer. A line which separates a bright and a relatively dark 'region of the field of view can be observed when the experiment is carried out and the angle corresponds to this line is measured by the circular scale of the spectrometer. Using this result and the value of the angle of the prism, the refractive index of the material of the prism can be calculated. The refractive index of a liquid can be determined repeating the experiment after coating one of the polished surfaces of the prism with a layer of the liquid. Procedure of earring out this experiment is explained elaborately in many elementary text books 1.2. However, the logical reasoning as spelt out in the derivation of the theory does not satisfactorily answer all the questions that a student with an inquiring mind might ask. This paper makes an attempt to rectify this defficiency.
Publication Year: 1990
Publication Date: 1990-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
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