M easurement of the index of

refraction has long been a

standard experiment in the introduc
tory laboratory. We have developed a
variation of this experiment that
requires only a series of length mea
surements and utilizes the small
angle approximation. It is a simple
alternative to the more conventional
laboratory exercise in which, for
example, one uses a ruler and pro
tractor to measure the angles at which
a ray enters and leaves a block of
1
glass. Our method typically gives a
refractive index of water that agrees
with the known value to within 1-2%.
The experiment consists of send
ing a light ray from air into a water
filled tank. Figure 1 shows the path of the ray, which point A and is refracted to point C. If tank is empty, the same
ray strikes point B.
enters the water at point A and is refracted so that it
Fig. 1. Schematic drawing of apparatus. Light enters water at
small, we may use the small-angle approximately equal to 1, the refrac
approximation, tive index of water is simply given
reaches point C at the bottom corner
by h/h .
of the tank. Now, if the water is
drained out of the tank (or if an iden tan → sin as → 0, (4) to
Experimental Details
tical empty tank is substituted for the
obtain The equipment used was a laser
one containing water), the ray is
unrefracted and strikes the side of the pointer, a meterstick, and two identi
tank at point B. The refractive index sin i /sin r = h/h . (5) Now, using cal glass tanks. One tank was filled
of the water may be found by mea with water to a depth of about 15.6
suring the distances h and h . Snell’s law, cm while the other was left empty. A
Referring to Fig. 1, the angles of piece of masking tape was placed on
incidence and refraction are seen to the empty tank to indicate the height
sin i /sin r = nr /ni, (6) of the water in the filled tank. To
be given by:
make the light ray visible in the
where ni and nr are, respectively, the water, we added a few drops of milk.
tan i = d/h (1) and indices of refraction of air and water,
tan r = d/h, (2) which leads to This allowed us to determine easily
we have the point at which the ray enters the
water. Marking the position of the
tan i/tan r = h/h . (3)
nr = ni (h/h ). (7) filled tank with masking tape makes
Now, if the incident beam is adjusted
Since the index of refraction of air is it easy to replace it with the empty
so that i (and hence r) are both very

478 THE PHYSICS TEACHER Vol. 38, Nov. 2000 Using the Small-Angle Approximation to Measure the Index of Refraction of Water
 Fig. 2. Measured data points for ratio h/h are plotted against angle of
incidence. The solid curve represents calculated values (tan i /tan r) for nr =
1.33.

for ni = 1, nr = 1.33. The figure down,” i.e., when the angle of

shows
tank without changing the position of
the laser pointer. We then found the
point at which the unrefracted ray
struck the side of the tank and thus
determined h . The laser pointer was
mounted in a clamp on a horizontal
rod above the tank. Moving the point
er along the rod changed the distance
d. A decrease in d corresponds to a
decrease in i and an increase in h .
As d becomes smaller, ratio h/h
approaches a constant value that is
equal to the refractive index of water.
Results
If the depth of the water is about
15.6 cm, then a value of d of about
2.9 cm is sufficiently small to give a
very accurate value of the refractive
index. Typical results are h = 15.6
0.1 cm and h = 11.7 0.1 cm. These
values give a refractive index for
water of 1.33 0.02. The angle of
incidence corresponding to these
measurements is about 10 . Figure 2
shows how the ratio h/h varies with
the incident angle. The points repre
sent our measured values; the solid
curve represents the ratio tan i /tan r
incidence i is small.
that the ratio does indeed approach
this paper, we measure no angles.
the constant value nr as the angle of
Only
incidence is decreased. For an angle
of incidence of 20 the error is about
2%. For an angle of 10 it is less than
1%, and for 5 it is about 0.2%.
Comments
We can relate the geometry of the
experiment to Snell’s law. From Fig.
1 we see that
sin i /sin r = (d/AB)/(d/AC)
= AC/AB = nr /ni . (8)
The figure then helps students visual
ize the small-angle approximation. It
is clear that as i becomes small, the
hypotenuse AB approaches the
length h and hypotenuse AC
approaches the length h. Students
can also appreciate that the ratio of
the actual depth to the apparent depth
of an object under water is equal to
the index of refrac tion of the water
when one views the object “straight
In the experiment presented in
lengths are measured. These are
accurate to 1 mm owing to the 2-
mm diameter of the laser pointer
spot. Given the distances we mea
sure, we have uncertainties of 1%-
2%. Hence, the experiment, though
using no more sophisticated tools
than those employed in the conven
1
tional Snell’s law experiment, is
intrinsically more accurate. In addi
tion, it offers mathematical insight
into both the small-angle approxima
tion and the process of taking limits.
Reference
1. Paul Zitzewitz and Craig
Kramer, Merrill Physics, Prin
ciples and Problems—Lab
oratory Manual (MacMillan/
McGraw Hill, Lake Forest, IL,
1992). Experiment 17.2,
Snell’s Law, pp. 118-120.
Using the Small-Angle Approximation to Measure the Index of Refraction of Water Vol. 38, Nov. 2000 T HE PHYSICS TEACHER 479