Refractive Index of a Liquid

Theory:
In optics, the refractive index (n) of a material is a dimensionless number that
describes how the light propagates through that material (medium). It can be
defined as:
n = c/v (1)
where, c is the speed of light in vacuum and v is the phase velocity of light in the
medium. For example, the refractive index of water is 1.333, meaning that light
travels 1.333 times faster in a vacuum than it does in water.

1

2

Fig.1: Refraction of light

Refraction is the bending of the path of a light wave (change in its direction) when
it passes from a medium in which it travels fast (less optically dense) into a
medium in which it travels relatively slow (more optically dense), it will bend
towards the normal line. The amount of bending depends on the indices of
refraction of the two media and is described quantitatively by Snell's Law.
If 1 is the angle of incidence of a ray in vacuum and 2 is the angle of refraction,
the refractive index (n) is defined as the ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence
to the sine of the angle of refraction.
n1 sin  1
= (2)
n 2 sin  2
When a convex lens is placed over some drops of the given liquid on a plane
mirror, a plano-concave liquid lens is formed between the lens and the mirror.
If fg is the focal length of the convex lens and F is the focal length of the
combination of convex lens and plano-concave liquid lens, so the focal length of
the liquid lens f2 is given by:
Ffg
fl =
fg − F (3)

If R is the radius curvature of the face of the convex lens which is in contact with
the liquid, then the refractive index of the liquid is,

nl= 1+ (4)

Tools Required:

• convex lens, the given liquid and water, plane mirror, retort stand, pointer,
Meter scale.

Note: Be sure that the liquid is clear and transparent.

Procedure:
I) To determine the focal length fg of the convex lens (As shown by Fig.2):

1) The plane mirror is placed horizontally on the base of the retort stand with
its reflecting surface upwards.
2) The given convex lens is placed over the plane mirror.
3) The pointer is arranged horizontally on the clamp of the retort stand,
vertically above the lens.
4) Looking from above, the height of the pointer is adjusted such that the
inverted image of the pointer is obtained.
5) The height is further adjusted so that the image coincides with tip of the
pointer without parallax. The image and object will be of the same size.
6) Measure the distance from the pointer to the bottom of the lens, and that
distance will be the focal length of the fg of the convex lens.

fg = …….cm
 Fig.2: Setup for determination of the focal length of glass convex lens.

II) To determine the focal length of the combination of convex lens and liquid
lens (As shown by Fig.3):

1) Remove the lens and place a few drops of the given liquid on the plane
mirror.
2) The lens is then placed over the liquid.
3) A plano-concave liquid lens is thus formed between the convex lens and the
plane mirror.
4) The pointer adjustment for coincidence is done.
5) Measure the distance between the pointer and the liquid lens, that will be
focal length of the combination, F.
6) Then calculate the focal length of the liquid lens using the formula,

Ffg
fl =
fg − F

7) Evaluate for the value of radius of curvature, using the appropriate method,
to determine the refractive index of the given liquid:

nl= 1+
Fig.3: Setup for determination of the focal length of glass convex lens and liquid lens
combination.

Results:

1-The focal length of the fg of the convex lens, fg = …….cm

2-The focal length of glass convex lens and liquid lens combination, F=…….cm
3- The focal length of liquid lens,
Ffg
fl = = ………. cm.
fg − F
4-The the value of radius of curvature, R=…….cm
5-The refractive index of the given liquid,

nl= 1+ =………...cm
Questions:
1) What do you expect for the focal length of the given liquid, to be smaller than
or equal to or larger than that of the air?? And Why?
2) What is function of plane mirror in the experiment?
3) What happen to the image produced when you place very small quantity of
water between the lens and the plane mirror??
4) What are the factors affecting the refractive index?
5) Is that possible for the refractive index of a medium be less than or equal to
1?? And why??