In this experiment, a mechanism is prepared to observe the refraction of light and calculate refractive index of water

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REFRACTION OF LIGHT

CANDIDATE’S NAME:

BAŞAK BAYRAMBAŞ

INSTRUCTOR’S NAME:

MİNE GÖKÇE ŞAHİN

PARTNER’S NAME:

BATU AYTEMİZ

CRITERIA TO BE EVALUATED:

Data Collection & Processing, Conclusion & Evaluation

INTRODUCTION

        In this experiment, a mechanism is prepared to observe the refraction of light and calculate refractive index of water according to the data taken from the experiment.

Refraction means the bending of a wave resulting from a change in its velocity as its moves from one medium to another. Since the frequency of a wave cannot change, independent of the source changing its frequency when it originally emits a wave. This change in wave velocity must result from a change in its wavelength in the second medium.

As shown in the diagram, when the waves encounter an oblique interface, both their direction and wavelength change. In the instance illustrated, the wavelengths shorten and the reflected rays “bend toward the normal” as the wave enter the shallow or slower medium:

To quantify the degree of refraction, a dimensionless quantity called index of refraction (n) is introduced.

n=c/v

where;

c: speed of light in a vacuum

v: average speed of light in the optically dense medium

n: medium’s index of refraction

Some common indices of refraction for a midrange wavelength of light (589 nm, a prominent line in the ) are:

As it is shown in the table above refractive index of matters are constant.

DATA COLLECTION & PROCESSING

Table 1: Angles of the lights with y-axis in medium of air and medium of water for each trial

Table 2: Sine of angles of light with y-axis in medium of air and water for each trial

Uncertainty calculation of sine of angles which are shown above in Table 2:

For Trial 1:

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Snell’s Law:

When the light passes from one transparent medium to another, it bend according to Snell’s law which states that;

  • n: refractive index (optical density) of the medium

sin

  • : sine of the angle with y-axis

        Since the refractive index (optical density) of air is equal to 1 (

, refractine index of water

 is equal to sine of angle of light in medium of air (

 over sine of angle of light in medium of water (

.

        That’s why slope of ...

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