AIM:

i) To investigate the dependence, of the angle of deviation

on the angle of incidence, using a hollow prism filled one by

one with different transparent fluids.

APPARATUS REQUIRED:

Drawing board, white sheets of paper, hollow prism,

different liquids(water, kerosene, oil, spirit etc) drawing
pins, pencil, half metre scale, thumb pins,graph papers and
a protractor.

INTRODUCTION:

In optics, a prism is a transparent optical element with flat,

polished surfaces that refract light. The exact angles
between the surfaces depend on the application. The
traditional geometrical shape is that of a triangular prism
with a triangular base and rectangular sides, and in
colloquial use "prism" usually refers to this type. Some types
of optical prism are not in fact in the shape of geometric
prisms. Prisms can be made from any material that is
transparent to the wavelengths for which they are designed.
Typical materials include glass, plastic and fluorite.

A prism can be used to break light up into its constituent

spectral colors (the colors of the rainbow). Prisms can
also be used to reflect light, or to split light into
components with different polarizations
PRISM AND NATURE OF LIGHT:

Before Isaac Newton, it was believed that white light was

colorless, and that the prism itself produced the color.
Newton's experiments demonstrated that all the colors
already existed in the light in a heterogeneous fashion, and
that "corpuscles" (particles) of light were fanned out
because particles with different colors traveled with
different speeds through the prism. It was only later that
Young and Fresnel combined Newton's particle theory with
Huygens' wave theory to show that color is the visible
manifestation of light's wavelength.

Newton arrived at his conclusion by passing the red color

from one prism through a second prism and found the color
unchanged. From this, he concluded that the colors must
already be present in the incoming light — thus, the prism
did not create colors, but merely separated colors that are
already there. He also used a lens and a second prism to
recompose the spectrum back into white light. This
experiment has become a classic example of the
methodology introduced during the scientific revolution.
The results of this experiment dramatically transformed the
field of metaphysics, leading to John Locke's primary vs
secondary quality distinction.

Newton discussed prism dispersion in great detail in his

book Opticks.[1] He also introduced the use of more than
one prism to control dispersion.[2] Newton's description of
his experiments on prism dispersion was qualitative, and is
quite readable. A quantitative were introduced in the
1980s.[3]
 THEORY:

HOW DOES A PRISM WORK:

Light changes speed as it moves from one medium to another

(for example, from air into the glass of the prism). This speed
change causes the light to be refracted and to enter the new
medium at a different angle (Huygens principle). The degree of
bending of the light's path
depends on the angle that the incident beam of light makes
with the surface, and on the ratio between the refractive
indices of the two media (Snell's law). The refractive index
of many materials (such as glass) varies with the
wavelength or color of the light used, a phenomenon known
as dispersion. This causes light of different colors to be
refracted differently and to leave the prism at different
angles, creating an effect similar to a rainbow. This can be
used to separate a beam of white light into its constituent
spectrum of colors. Prisms will generally disperse light over
a much larger frequency bandwidth than diffraction
gratings, making them useful for broad-spectrum
spectroscopy. Furthermore, prisms do not suffer from
complications arising from overlapping spectral orders,
which all gratings have.

Prisms are sometimes used for the internal reflection at the

surfaces rather than for dispersion. If light inside the prism
hits one of the surfaces at a sufficiently steep angle, total
internal reflection occurs and all of the light is reflected.
This makes a prism a useful substitute for a mirror in some
situations.
A triangular prism, dispersing light; waves shown to illustrate
the differing wavelengths of light.

Angle of Minimum Deviation:

A) Defination: The minimum value of angle of

deviation, is called angle of minimum deviation. It
is represented by the symbol Dm.

b) Explanation: For same angle of deviation (D) there are two

values of angle of incidence. One value equals ’i’ and other
value equals ‘e’

As angle ‘i’ is increased from a small value, ‘e’ decreases

from large value and angle of deviation decreases. When
angle of deviation is minimum(Dm), then, ‘i’ and ‘e’ becomes
equal.
DIAGRAMS:
 TYPES OF PRISM:

Comparison of the spectra obtained from a diffraction grating by

diffraction (1), and a prism by refraction (2). Longer wavelengths
(red) are diffracted more, but refracted less than shorter
wavelengths (violet).

Dispersive prisms are used to break up light into its

constituent spectral colors because the refractive index
depends on frequency; the white light entering the prism is
a mixture of different frequencies, each of which gets bent
slightly differently. Blue light is slowed down more than red
light and will therefore be bent more than red light.
OBSERVATIONS:

As given in the practical book on page no.256

CALCULATIONS:

What should we do in the calculations…??

Should we go according to the formula given in the

book..??
GRAPHS:

Graph between angle of incidence and angle of deviation.

RESULT: