S K J Al-Ani and J Beynon 1985 Phys. Educ. 20 274 doi:10.1088/0031-9120/20/6/002
S K J Al-Ani and J Beynon
Show affiliationsA fundamental optics experiment in the school/undergraduate physics laboratory is the investigation of the dispersion of visible light using a prism spectrometer. The refractive index, n, of the prism material can be calculated for various wavelengths with the help of the relation n=sin((A+Dmin)/2)/sin(A/2), where A is the refracting angle of the prism and Dmin is the angle of minimum deviation. With reasonable care it is possible to verify that n and lambda satisfy a simplified Cauchy relation of the form n=L+M lambda -2, where L and M are constants characteristic of the prism material.
Condensed matter: electrical, magnetic and optical
Issue 6 (November 1985)
S K J Al-Ani and J Beynon 1985 Phys. Educ. 20 274
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