S.
No Content
1 Aim / Objective
2 Theory
3 Materials Required
4 Experiment Setup
5 Observations
6 Calculations
7 Results / Conclusion
8 Bibliography
INDEX
AIM / OBJECTIVE
To study the phenomenon of dispersion of white light
by a glass prism.
To measure the angle of minimum deviation for
different colours of the spectrum.
To calculate the refractive index of the prism material
for each colour.
To analyse the variation of refractive index with
wavelength and verify the dispersion relation.
THEORY
Dispersion of Light
When a beam of white light (polychromatic) enters a glass prism, it
splits into its constituent colours – violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow,
orange, red (VIBGYOR). This phenomenon is called dispersion. It
occurs because the refractive index of the prism material varies with the
wavelength (or colour) of light.
Cauchy's Equation
The dependence of refractive index n on wavelength lambda is
approximately given by Cauchy's formula:
n = A + B / (lambda^2)
where A and B are constants for a given material. Shorter wavelengths
(violet) experience a higher refractive index and are deviated more than
longer wavelengths (red).
Prism Formula
For a prism of angle A (the refracting angle), a ray of light suffers two
refractions. The angle between the incident ray and the emergent ray is
called the angle of deviation. At minimum deviation (delta_m), the ray
inside the prism is parallel to its base.
The refractive index n of the prism material is given by:
n = sin((A + delta_m)/2) / sin(A/2)
Thus, by measuring the angle of minimum deviation for each colour, one
can compute the corresponding refractive index and study dispersion.
Angular Dispersion and Dispersive Power
The angular dispersion is the difference in minimum deviation between
violet and red rays:
Angular dispersion = delta_v - delta_r
The dispersive power (omega) of the prism for a pair of colours (violet-
red) using yellow as mean:
omega = (n_v - n_r) / (n_y - 1)
MATERIALS REQUIRED
1. Glass prism (equilateral, A = 60 deg)
2. Spectrometer (with collimator, telescope, circular scale and
vernier)
3. White light source (tungsten filament lamp or mercury vapour
lamp)
4. Slit assembly (adjustable)
5. Reading lens (for reading the vernier scale)
6. Spirit level (for levelling the instrument)
7. Dark cloth (if required for better observation)
8. Graph paper and stationery
EXPERIMENT SETUP
The experiment is performed using a spectrometer.
OBSERVATIONS & TABULATIONS
Determination of Prism Angle A
Vernier constant of spectrometer = 1' (1 minute of arc) = 0.0167 deg
Face Telescope Reading Difference (2A) Mean A
Face 1 (left) 294 deg 30'
Face 2 (right) 174 deg 30' 120 deg 00' 60 deg
Thus A = 60 deg.
Measurement of Angle of Minimum Deviation for
Different Colours
Direct reading: 50 deg 00'
Colour Reading at delta_m delta_m = Reading - Direct
Violet 98 deg 30' 48 deg 30'
Blue 97 deg 10' 47 deg 10'
Green 95 deg 50' 45 deg 50'
Yellow 95 deg 00' 45 deg 00'
Orange 94 deg 20' 44 deg 20'
Red 93 deg 40' 43 deg 40'
CALCULATIONS
Using the prism formula:
n = sin((A + delta_m)/2) / sin(A/2) with A = 60 deg, sin(A/2) = 0.5
Colour delta_m n calculated
Violet 48 deg 30' 1.623
Blue 47 deg 10' 1.607
Green 45 deg 50' 1.592
Yellow 45 deg 00' 1.584
Orange 44 deg 20' 1.578
Red 43 deg 40' 1.572
Angular Dispersion
Angular dispersion = 48 deg 30' - 43 deg 40' = 4 deg 50'
Dispersive Power
omega = (1.623 - 1.572) / (1.584 - 1) = 0.051 / 0.584 = 0.0873
RESULTS / CONCLUSION
White light is dispersed into its constituent colours
when passing through a glass prism.
The angle of minimum deviation is largest for violet
(48 deg 30') and smallest for red (43 deg 40').
The refractive index decreases with increasing
wavelength: n_v = 1.623 > n_r = 1.572.
The angular dispersion between violet and red is 4
deg 50'.
The dispersive power of the prism material is
approximately 0.0873.
The phenomenon verifies that dispersion arises from
the wavelength-dependent refractive index.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
1. NCERT, Physics Textbook for Class XII – NCERT, New Delhi.
2. NCERT, Laboratory Manual in Physics – Class XII – NCERT.
3. H.C. Verma, Concepts of Physics, Vol. 1 & 2, Bharati Bhavan.
4. Resnick, Halliday & Walker, Fundamentals of Physics, Wiley.
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