Abbe Refractometer

1 Objective
• To find refractive index of the given liquid samples and find Molar
refraction and specific refraction.

2 Prelab Questions

1- Define refractive index (n), density (d), specific refraction (R) and molar
refraction (RM).
2- Find the refractive index (n) and the density (d) of water and sucrose
solutions in deferent concentration (70%, 60%, 50%, 40%, 30%, 20%, 10%)
at room temperature.

3 Principles
The Abbe refractometer, named after its inventor Ernst Abbe (1840-1905),
was the first laboratory instrument for the precise determination of the
refractive index of liquids. The measuring principle of an Abbe refractometer
is based on the principle of total reflection.
Abbe refractometers are used for measuring liquids. The reference media
glasses (prisms) can be selected with high refractive indices. The light from
a radiation source is reflected by a mirror and hits a double prism. A few
drops of the sample are placed between this so-called Abbe double prism.
The incident light beams pass through the double prism and sample only if
their angles of incidence at the interface are less than the critical angle of

1
total reflection. A microscope and a mirror with a suitable mechanism are
used to determine the light / dark boundary line (shadow line).
Reflection of light

Reflection of Light is the process of sending back the light rays which
falls on the surface of an object. The image formed due to reflection of an
object on a plane mirror is at different places

Reflection is the change in the direction of wave passing from one medium to other
medium. Some part of the rays reflects at the same angle (α) and some refract at
different angle (β)

Snell’s Law

The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of the angle of refraction
is a constant, for the light of a given colour and for the given pair of media. The
refractive angle is determined by Snell,s law

𝑛" 𝑆𝑖𝑛 𝛼 = 𝑛( 𝑆𝑖𝑛𝛽

𝑛" is refractive index of medium 1

𝑛( is refractive index of medium 2

*+, - 12345-67 48 3-9:6 -/ ";6 <2=-><

=𝑛=
.-/ 0 12345-67 48 3-9:6 -/ (/= <2=-><

2
Abbe’s Refractometer
The Abbe instrument is the most convenient and widely used refractometer, Fig(1)
shows a schematic diagram of its optical system. The sample is contained as a thin
layer (~0.1mm) between two prisms. The upper prism is firmly mounted on a bearing
that allows its rotation by means of the side arm shown in dotted lines. The lower
prism is hinged to the upper to permit separation for cleaning and for introduction
of the sample. The lower prism face is rough-ground: when light is reflected into the
prism, this surface effectively becomes the source for an infinite number of rays that
pass through the sample at all angels. The radiation is refracted at the interface of
the sample and the smooth-ground face of the upper prism. After this it passes into
the fixed telescope. Two Amici prisms that can be rotated with respect to another
serve to collect the divergent critical angle rays of different colors into a single white
beam, that corresponds in path to that of the sodium D ray. The eyepiece of the
telescope is provided with crosshairs: in making a measurement, the prism angle is
changed until the light-dark interface just coincides with the crosshairs. The position
of the prism is then established from the fixed scale (which is normally graduates in
units of nD). Thermosetting is accomplished by circulation of water through the
jackets surrounding the prism.
The Abbe refractometer is very popular and owes its popularity to its convenience,
its wide range (nD = 1.3 to 1.7), and to the minimal sample is needed. The accuracy
of the instrument is about ±0.0002; its precision is half this figure. The most serious
error in the Abbe instrument is caused by the fact that the nearly glazing rays are cut
off by the arrangement of to prisms; the boundary is thus less sharp than is desirable.
A precision Abbe refractometer, that diminishes the uncertainties of the ordinary
instrument by a factor of about three, is also available; the improvement in accuracy
is obtained by replacing the compensator with a monochromatic source and by using

3
larger and more precise prism mounts. The former provides a much sharper critical
boundary, and the latter allows a more accurate determination of the prism position.

Figure-1: Light entering the illuminating prism producing dark and bright
regions in the field of view

Measurement of refractive index

The refractive index of a substance is ordinarily determined by measuring the
change in direction of colliminated radiation as it passes from one medium to
another.

(1)

4
Where v1 is the velocity of propagation in the less dense medium M1 and v2 is the
velocity in medium M2; n1 and n2 are the corresponding refractive indices
and θ1 and θ2 are the angles of incidence and refraction, respectively Fig 2.
When M1 is a vacuum, n1 is unity because v1 becomes equal to c in equation (1).
Thus,

(2)

Where nvac is the absolute refractive index of M2. Thus nvac can be obtained by
measuring the two angles θ1 and θ2.

Factors affecting refractive index

Various factors that affect refractive index measurement are
1.Temperature
Temperature influences the refractive index of a medium primarily because of the
accompanying change in density. For many liquids, the temperature coefficient lies
in the range of -4 to -6 x10-4deg-1. Water is an important exception, with a coefficient
of about -1 x10-4deg-1.

5
2.Wavelength of light used
The refractive index of a transparent medium gradually decreases with increasing
wavelength; this effect is referred to as normal dispersion. In the vicinity of
absorption bands, rapid changes in refractive index occur; here the dispersion is
anomalous.
3.Pressure
The refractive index of a substance increases with pressure because of the
accompanying rise in density. The effect is most pronounced in gases, where the
change in n amounts to about 3x10-4 per atmosphere; the figure is less by a factor
of 10 for liquids, and it is yet smaller for solids.

4 Apparatus
Abbe’s refractometer.

5 Experimental Steps
1. Clean the surface of prism first with alcohol and then with acetone using cotton
and allow it to dry.
2. Using a dropper put 2-3 drops of given liquid b/w prisms and press them
together
3. Allow the light to fall on mirror.
4. Adjust the mirror to reflect maximum light into the prism box
5. Rotate the prism box by moving lever until the boundary b/w shaded and bright
parts appear in the field of view.
6. If a band of colors appear in the light shade boundary make it sharp by rotating
the compensator.

6
7. Adjust the lever so that light shade boundary passes exactly through the centre
of cross wire
8. Read the refractive index directly on the scale

Figure 2. Refractive index values as read on the scale

9. Take 3 set of readings and find the average of all the readings.
10. The refractive index of water is 1.3333

OBSERVATIONS:
Room temp. =……………………….. degrees

Sr.# Liquid Refractive index

Specific refraction, R = (n2 -1)/(n2 + 2) × 1/d

Molar refraction, RM= R ×M (molecular mass of liquid)

7
Refractive index of some common liquid
Variation of refractive index with wavelength
6. To study the effect of wavelength of light on refractive index, we have used blue
(420nm), yellow
(590nm) and red (630nm) LED lights obtained from a solid state lamp. For castor
oil the value of the
refractive index obtained is tabulated in Table-2.

It may be noted that the value of refractive indices obtained for different colours of
light are the same,
indicating the inability of the model to differentiate wavelengths.

6 Post lab questions

4g sugar cube (sucrose: C12H22O11) is dissolved in a 350 ml teacup filled with

hot water. What is the molarity of the sugar solution.

8
7 Reference
[1]http://www2.ups.edu/faculty/hanson/labtechniques/refractometry/theory.htm
[2] G H Meeteen, Refractive index measurement, Schluberger Cambridge
Research, CRC press LLC, 1999
[3] http://www.refractometer.pl/refractometer-history