Refractive index

The speed of electromagnetic waves in vacuum, c=2,99792458108 m/s, is one of the most important constants in physics. A human eye is able to detect electromagnetic waves in a range from 360 nm (violet color) to 750 nm (red color). It is called a visible range of light. When light waves travel through a medium (optical medium), its electric part interacts with the electrons of that medium, causing them to vibrate. The electrons of the medium thus become radiating light waves as the secondary sources. However, the speed of new waves, v, changes accordingly to the optical properties of the particular medium. It is always smaller than the speed of light in vacuum, v<c. All materials are characterized by their ability to slow down the light waves, known as optical refractive index n

n=

c v

[1]

The refractive index is a unitless parameter, equal to 1 for a vacuum and larger than 1 for any other material (e.g. n=1.33 for water). The speed of light in air is only slightly less than c, resulting into the refractive index of 1.0003. Typically, it is truncated to 1. The difference between a light speed in different media results into the change of direction along which the light propagates, refraction (Fig. 1). Refraction occurs when the light passes from one medium to a medium with a different index of refraction, except the light that approaches the boundary between the two media perpendicularly. Accordingly to the properties of an optical medium, some portion of light approaching the interface at an incident angle is reflected back to the first medium while the rest propagates into the other medium at an angle of refraction . The angles of incident, reflection and refraction are defined as angles between the particular ray and the interface normal (see Fig. 1).
Note, that the reflection angle is always equal to the incident angle. On the other

hand, the refractive angle is determined by the Snell's law

where n1 is the refractive index of medium 1 and n2 is the refractive index of medium 2. It is possible to define an optical density for the media of different refractive indices.

Medium A has a higher optical density than medium B, if its refractive index is higher than that of medium B. According to the Snell's law, the light ray is "bending towards the normal" (<), if it enters the medium with a higher optical density (Fig. 1). When it enters the medium with a lower optical density, it is "bending away from the normal" (>).

Fig. 1. Refraction of light

Refractive index can be measured by the refractometer. We will use the double prism system called the Abbe's refractometer, shown in Fig. 2. It consists of the two optical prisms (illuminating and refracting) with the thin layer of a liquid sample between them. The measuring prism is made of a glass with a high refractive index (n2>1,75), which allows this refractometer to measure refractive indices up to n1<1.75. The light enters the refractometer from the left side of the illuminating prism at many different angles. The bottom part of this prism (AB') is rough, i.e. it consists of many small areas oriented in different directions. As such, this surface can be imagined as a source shining the light into all directions. Part of this light passes through the sample into the refracting prism, where the biggest possible angle of incident, max, corresponds to the ray that propagates from point A to point B (Fig. 2). According to the Snell's law, the refraction of this ray is then described by the maximum angle of refraction max. All other rays enter

the refracting prism at smaller angles and thus end up to the left of point C. Consequently, detector located at the bottom of the refracting prism detects the illuminated region to the left of point C and a dark region to the right of this point. Since the maximum angle, max, and the refractive index of the refracting prism, n2, are known constants, it is straightforward to determine the refractive index of a measured liquid, n1. The interface between an illuminated and dark region (position of point C) changes as a function of angle max, which is different for samples with different refractive indices n1. The simple readout from the scale of refractometer then provides the refractive index directly, or it can be readily determined using a conversion table.

Fig. 2. The schematic of the Abbe's refractometer.

The refraction index depends on the wavelength of light, because the speed of light waves depends on their wavelength. Light of different colors (different wavelengths) is bending at different angles even if it comes at the same angle of incident (dispersion). As a result, the white light, that comprises all the wavelengths, produces a rainbow after passing through the optical prism (or droplets of moisture in the atmosphere). However, despite the beauty of a rainbow, this is an unwanted effect in refractive index determination. It causes the smearing of an interface between the illuminated and dark regions in the Abbe's refractometer. To increase the precision of a measurement, it is therefore preferable to use a monochromatic light (light of a single

wavelength). The most commonly used source is a sodium light of a wavelength equal to 589 nm. The refractive index depends also on the density of the measured sample, which is affected by its temperature. Typically, refractive index decreases with the decreasing density (increasing temperature). The measurement of a refractive index is therefore reported together with the temperature and the wavelength of light used. Symbol n 20 then D represents the refractive index measured at t=20 C using the sodium line D light (low pressure sodium lamp). The refractive index is an important physical parameter, which is widely used in chemistry. It is commonly used to identify the liquid, or its purity. Often, it is used to determine the concentration of solutions.

The determination of the refractive index of a methanol-ethanol solution

Equipment: Abbe's refractometer, pipet, thermometer, different mixtures of methanol and ethanol at known compositions, mixture of methanol and ethanol at an unknown composition, filter paper

Experimental procedure: 1. Turn on the light source.

2. Open the double-prism of the refractometer, clean both glass surfaces with a filter paper, and close the double-prism. Use a pipet to fill the space between the two prisms with methanol. Turn the refractometer scale knob to get a clear interface between the illuminated and dark regions. Use the micrometric screw for the additional refinement of the scale, until the clear interface appears. Read out the integer value from the rough scale and decimal number from the refined scale. Determine the index of refraction using the conversion table. 3. Open the double-prism and dry out glass surfaces using the filter paper. Repeat the measurement for all methanol/ethanol mixtures of known and unknown compositions. 4. Use MS Excell to create a calibration curve (i.e. dependence n=f(v% CH3OH)). Fit the experimental points with a straight line and write down its coefficients. 5. Determine the composition of an unknown solution using its refractive index and the calibration curve.

References: 1. Sarka K., Kopeck, F.: Physics for Students of Pharmacy II. Bratislava, UK 1990. 102 s. (in Slovak). 2. Edition of Department of Physical Chemistry: Laboratory Practice in Physics for Students of Pharmacy. Faculty of Pharmacy, Comenius University, Bratislava, UK 1991. 3. Oremusov J., Vojtekov M.: Refractometry. Manual for laboratory practice. (in Slovak)

Manual written by RNDr.J.Gallov, CSc. English version prepared by N. Kuerka, PhD.