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To Determine the Cauchy’s constant by the use of Spectrometer

Working Principle:
The basic function of a spectrometer is to take in light, break it into its spectral components, digitize the signal as a
function of wavelength, and read it out and display it through a computer. The first step in this process is to direct
light through a fiber optic cable into the spectrometer through a narrow aperture known as an entrance slit. The slit
vignettes the light as it enters the spectrometer. In most spectrometers, the divergent light is then collimated by a
concave mirror and directed onto a grating. The grating then disperses the spectral components of the light at
slightly varying angles, which is then focused by a second concave mirror and imaged onto the detector.

Procedure:
1. Turn the telescope towards the white wall or screen and looking through eye-piece, adjust its position till the cross
wires are clearly seen.
2. Turn the telescope towards window, focus the telescope to a long distant object.
3. Place the telescope parallel to collimator.
4. Place the collimator directed towards sodium vapor lamb. Switch on the lamp.
5. Focus collimator slit using collimator focusing adjustment.
6. Adjust the collimator slit width.
7. Place prism table, note that the surface of the table is just below the level of telescope and collimator.
8. Place spirit level on prism table. Adjust the base leveling screw till the bubble come at the centre of spirit level.
9. Clamp the prism holder.
10. Clamp the prism in which the sharp edge is facing towards the collimator, and base of the prism is at the clamp.

Theory:
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Spectrometer:
The spectrometer is an instrument used for
 Producing, viewing and taking measurements on a pure spectrum using either a prism or a
diffraction grating.
 Measuring accurately the refractive index of a material in the form of a prism.

Parts of Spectrometer:
The essential parts are
 The collimator which is fixed to the base of the instrument, consisting of a slit of variable width,
and an achromatic lens.
 The turntable, which can be rotated, and to which a prism or grating can be attached. The circular
edge of the table has a scale graduated in degrees.
 The telescope, which can also be rotated. A vernier scale is fitted to the telescope where it adjoins
the table, enabling their relative orientation to be measured to 0.1o, or less.

Nature of Light:
Light is a transverse, electromagnetic wave that can be seen by humans. The wave nature of light was first illustrated
through experiments on diffraction and interference. Like all electromagnetic waves, light can travel through a
vacuum. The transverse nature of light can be demonstrated through polarization.
 In 1678, Christian (1629–1695) published Traité de la Lumiere, where he argued in favor of the wave nature of
light. Huygens stated that an expanding sphere of light behaves as if each point on the wave front were a new
source of radiation of the same frequency and phase.
 Thomas Young (1773–1829) and Augustin-Jean Fresnel (1788–1827) disproved Newton's corpuscular theory.

Prism:
A glass or other transparent object in the form of a prism, especially one that is triangular with refracting surfaces at
an acute angle with each other and that separates white light into a spectrum of colours.

 In optics a prism is a transparent optical element with flat, polished surfaces that refract light. At least two
of the flat surfaces must have an angle between them. 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 dispersive prism can be used to break light up into its constituent spectral colors (the colors of
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the rainbow). Furthermore, prisms can be used to reflect light, or to split light into components with
different polarizations.

Dispersion:
Visible light is actually made up of different colors. Each color bends by a different amount when refracted by glass.
That's why visible light is split, or dispersed, into different colors when it passes through a lens or prism. Shorter
wavelengths, like purple and blue light, bend the most. Longer wavelengths, like red and orange light, bend the
least.
The process of splitting of white light into seven colours is called dispersion of light.

Types of Dispersion:
(1) Normal Dispersion:
The type of dispersion in which the index of refraction n increases with angular frequency 

In a normal dispersive medium the refractive index increases as the frequency of light increases. All
of us are familiar with the rainbow like colors that appear from a glass prism when sunlight is incident on the prism.
Each color travels differently through the prism due to normal dispersion; blue light bends more and travels slower
than the red light. The emerging color sequence at the output end is important: red light is farthest from the base of
the prism and blue light is the closest. Most naturally occurring transparent media exhibit normal dispersion in the
visible range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

(2) ANOMALOUS DISPERSION

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In an anomalous dispersive medium the refractive index decreases as the frequency of light increases,
and the region of anomalous dispersion coexists with a strongly absorbing behavior making the
medium opaque. There is no known naturally occurring anomalous dispersive medium which
is transparent in the visible region of the spectrum. If a prism is made out of a transparent anomalous
dispersive material, the sequence of the emerging colors would be reversed, with the blue light being
farthest from the base of the prism and the red light closest to it, and of course, the blue light would
travel faster than the red light inside such a medium.

Diffraction:
Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave encounters an obstacle or a slit. It is defined as
the bending of light around the corners of an obstacle or aperture into the region of geometrical shadow of the
obstacle. In classical physics, the diffraction phenomenon is described as the interference of waves according to
the Huygens–Fresnel principle

The process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow
aperture or across an edge, typically accompanied by interference between the wave forms produced.

Diffraction grating:
A polished surface, usually glass or metal, having a large number of very fine parallel grooves or slits, and used topr
oduce optical spectra by diffraction of reflected or transmitted light.

A diffraction grating is the tool of choice for separating the colors in incident light.

A plate of glass or metal ruled with very close parallel lines, producing a spectrum by diffraction and interference of
light.

Types of Diffraction:
Fraunhofer Diffraction:
In optics, Fraunhofer diffraction (named after Joseph von Fraunhofer), or far-field diffraction, is a form of wave
diffraction that occurs when field waves are passed through an aperture or slit causing only the size of an
observed aperture image to change due to the far-field location of observation and the increasingly planar nature
of outgoing diffracted waves passing through the aperture.

Fresnel diffraction:
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On the other hand, Fresnel diffraction or near-field diffraction is a process of diffraction that occurs when a
wave passes through an aperture and diffracts in the near field, causing any diffraction pattern observed to differ
in size and shape, depending on the distance between the aperture and the projection. It occurs due to the short
distance in which the diffracted waves propagate which results in a Fresnel number greater than 1 (F > 1).
When the distance is increased, outgoing diffracted waves become planar and Fraunhofer diffraction occurs.

It is observed at distances beyond the near-field distance of Fresnel diffraction, which affects both the size and
shape of the observed aperture image, and occurs only when the Fresnel number  , wherein the
parallel rays approximation can be applied.

Prism:
A prism spectrometer is an optical spectrometer which uses a dispersive prism as its dispersive element. The
prism refracts light into its different colors (wavelengths). The dispersion occurs because the angle of refraction is
dependent on the refractive index of the prism's material, which in turn is slightly dependent on the wavelength of
light that is traveling through it.

Angle of Prism:
The angle between two surfaces is known as refracting angle or angle of prism. In a prism, a ray of light
suffers two refraction and the result is deviation. In other words, we say that after passing through prism the ray
of light deviates through a certain angle from its original path.

Angle of Deviation:
Light is deflected as it enters a material with refractive index > 1. A ray of light is deflected twice in a prism. The
sum of these deflections is the deviation angle. When the entrance and exit angles are equal, the deviation angle of
a ray passing through a prism will be a minimum.

Angle of the prism: The larger the prism angle, the larger the deviation angle.

Refractive index of the prism: The refractive index depends on the material and the wavelength of the light. The larger the
refractive index, the larger the deviation angle.

Angle of incidence: The deviation angle depends on the angle that the beam enters the object, called angle of incidence. The
deviation angle first decreases with increasing incidence angle, and then it increases.The angle of minimum deviation is
attained when the angle of incidence and angle of emergence for a ray of light being refracted through a prism, are
equal.

Cauchy's equation:
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Cauchy's equation is an empirical relationship between the refractive index and wavelength of light for a particular
transparent material. It is named for the mathematician Augustin-Louis Cauchy, who defined it in 1836.

 The most general form of Cauchy's equation is

   . . . . .. . . (1)
where n is the refractive index, λ is the wavelength, B, C, D, etc., are coefficients that can be determined for a
material by fitting the equation to measured refractive indices at known wavelengths.
 
The refractive index n of the material of the prism for a wavelength λ is given by.

                               . . . . ..  .. ..(2)
 Where A and B are called Cauchy’s constants for the prism.
If the refractive indices n1 and n2 for any two known wavelength λ1 and λ2 are determined by a spectrometer, the
Cauchy’s constants A and B can be calculated from the above equation.
 The theory of light-matter interaction on which Cauchy based this equation was later found to be incorrect. In
particular, the equation is only valid for regions of normal dispersion in the visible wavelength region. In the
infrared, the equation becomes inaccurate, and it cannot represent regions of anomalous dispersion.

Mercury-vapor lamp:
A mercury-vapor lamp is a gas discharge lamp that uses an electric arc through vaporized mercury to
produce light. The arc discharge is generally confined to a small fused quartz arc tube mounted within a
larger borosilicate glass bulb. The outer bulb may be clear or coated with a phosphor; in either case, the outer bulb
provides thermal insulation, protection from the ultraviolet radiation the light produces, and a convenient mounting
for the fused quartz arc tube.
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