INSTITUTO POLITÉCNICO

NACIONAL

ESCUELA SUPERIOR DE FÍSICA Y

MATEMÁTICAS

INSTITUTO POLITÉCNICO NACIONAL

ESCUELA SUPERIOR DE FÍSICA
Y MATEMÁTICAS

Physics Laboratory

Laboratory practice 2: Measurement of the index of refraction of

different substances.

Autor: Aguilar Rodríguez Saúl

Group: 4FV2C

Período 2020/1

Dr. Janos Zsargo

Date: 03/09/2019
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Laboratory practice 1: Measurement of the index of refraction of

different substances.
Objective: verify with 3 simple experiments the law of reflection
and refraction and calculate the index of refraction of different
substances
Introducción:
a) Refrection law: a reflected ray stay in the incidence plane
and have a reflection angle θi equal to incidence angle
θi= θi’
Normal axis

Substance with
refraction index ni
Separation
surface
Substance with
refraction index nt

1 = incidence ray, 2 = reflected ray, 3 = refracted ray

b) Refraction law: a refracted law stay in the incidence

plane and have a refraction angle θt related to the
incidence angle for Snell´s law:
𝑛𝑖 sin 𝜃𝑖 = 𝑛𝑡 sin 𝜃𝑡
In general, the index of refraction is inversely
proportional to the speed of light in the médium
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Experimental process

i) An observer gonna see

refracted a pin when the light
passes through the
countainer.
a) Materials:
 Countainer with semicircle
shape.
 Glicerin and oil.
 Pins.

b) Experimental arrangement.
Across the countainer we gonna see refracte a pin and we put a pin aligned
with them.

c) Data collection.

Glicerin
N Θi Θt Sen θi Sen θt
1 31° 23° 0.515 0.390
2 7° 4° 0.121 0.069
3 37° 24° 0.601 0.406
4 46 29 0.719 0.484

Table 1.1 Experimental data for the glicerin

0.8
0.7
0.6 y = 1.4013x + 0.0164

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5 0.6
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Gráfic 1.1 Dispersión of experimantal data for the glicerin

We can see that the gradient line represent the refraction index.

𝑛 = 1.3734

𝑛𝑡 − 𝑛𝑚 1.473 − 1.373
𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑒𝑟𝑖𝑛 = | | × 100 = | | × 100 = 6.741
𝑛𝑡 1.473

Oil
N Θi Θt Sen θi Sen θt

1 23.5 21 0.398 0.358

2 44 29 0.694 0.484

3 78 40 0.978 0.642
Table 1.2 Experimental data for the oil.

0.7
y = 1.420x + 0.2107
0.6

0.5

0.4

0.3

0.2

0.1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5

Gráfic 1.2 Dispersión of experimantal data for the oil.

We can see that the gradient line represent the refraction index.

𝑛 = 1.420
𝑛𝑡 − 𝑛𝑚 1.456 − 1.420
𝑒𝑜𝑖𝑙 =| | × 100 = | | × 100 = 0.024%
𝑛𝑡 1.456
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ii) Apparent Depth

The refractive index of a glass
will be measured.

a) Experimental arragement
 Focusing the lens on the
glass plate, taking like a
reference point O.
 Remove the glass and
focus on the table L1.
 Focus on the table seen
through the glass L2.

b) Data colection.

Profundidad aparente
Position Distance [mm]
O 106.5
Person 1
L1 88.5
L2 80.5
Position Distance [mm]
O 105.5
Person 2
L1 88.5
L2 80.5
Position Distance [mm]
O 105.5
Person 3
L1 85.0
L2 78.0
Tabla 2.1 apparent Depth.

We can find the values of Y and Y’, and the refraction index.
N y y’ n
1 26.0 18.0 1.444
2 26.9 17.0 1.576
3 27.5 20.0 1.454
average 1.454

𝑛𝑡 − 𝑛𝑚 1.45 − 1.454
𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 = | | × 100 = | | × 100 = 0.284%
𝑛𝑡 1.45
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iii) Critical angle

With the help of a laser and a mirror pointing at an objective we produce
a circumferene of light, this is formed because the angle of incidence
excedes the critical angle of the material when it passes from a médium
of a refractive index greater tha one minor refractive index.

Medium h r n

glass 1.6 4.04 1.8733

water 2.2 9.73 1.3483

Table 3.1 measurement of the refraction index.

̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
𝐷 2 +16𝐻2
We have the ecuation: 𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 = 𝐷

Now, we can get the measurement error:

1.45 − 1.8733
𝑒𝑔𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠 = | | × 100 = 29.19%
1.45
1.333 − 1.348
𝑒𝑤𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑟 = | | × 100 = 1.14%
1.333
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Conclutions
There are many methods to experimentally check the
refractive index of some material, in this practice we achieve
reproduction of some of these methods, obtaining values
close to the theoretical ones, obtaining a lower error in the
method of the traveling microscope.

Bibliography
 http://www.feynmanlectures.caltech.edu/I_27.html
(capitulo 27 de lectures on physics vol. 1)
 Optics, Eugene Hecht, cuarta edición, lentes