Physics Laboratory March 21, 2012 The Introduction to Ray Optics-Index of Refraction Purpose: The purpose of this lab

is to be introduced to the concept of optics. Sketch of Apparatus Part1

Part 2

Part 3

Apparatus: Optics Bench, Light Source, Ray Table, Component Holders, Slit Plate, Ray Table holder, and Viewing Screen slit mask, cylindrical lens, Excel software, and a PC computer

Precautions and Steps: PART I. THE STRAIGHT LINE PROPAGATION OF LIGHT: Setup the equipment as shown in figure 1, and turn on the Light Source. Darken the room enough so the light rays on the viewing screen are easily visible. Now, observe the light rays on the viewing screen. 1. Are the rays straight? 2. How does the width and distinctness of each ray vary with the distance from the Slit Plate? 3. Rotate the Slit Plate slowly on the component holder until the slits are horizontal. Observe the slit images on the Viewing Screen. 4. How does the width and distinctness of the slit images depend on the angle of the Slit Plate? 5. For what angle of the Slit Plate are the images most distinct? For what angle are the images least distinct? 6. On a separate sheet of paper, explain your observations in terms of the straight line propagation of light. Include a diagram showing how the width of the slit images depends on the orientation of the Light Bulb filament with respect to the Slit Plate. PART II. RAY TRACING; LOCATING THE LIGHT BULB FILAMENT: 1. Remove the viewing screen and insert the ray table and stand (see figure 2). 2. Place a piece of blank white paper on top of the Ray Table, and make a reference mark on the paper at the position of center of the Ray Table. Using a pencil and straightedge, trace the edges of several of the rays onto the paper. 3. Remove the paper. Use the pencil and straightedge to extend each of the rays. Trace them back to their common point of intersection. (You may need to tape on an additional sheet of paper.) Label the filament and the center of the Ray Table on your diagram. 4. Measure the distance between your reference mark and the point of intersection of the rays. 5. Use the metric scale on the Optics Bench to measure the distance between the filament and the center of the Ray Table directly. This will be your known value. 6. Determine the percent error for your two measurements. PART III. INDEX OF REFRACTION: 1. Adjust the slit plate and slit mask so a single ray of light passes directly through the center of the Ray Table Degree Scale. 2. Align the flat surface of the Cylindrical Lens with the line labeled "Component". With the lens properly aligned, the radial lines extending from the center of the Degree Scale will all be perpendicular to the circular surface of the lens. Without disturbing the alignment of the Lens, rotate the Ray Table and observe the refracted ray for various angles of incidence. 3. By rotating the Ray Table, set the angle of incidence to each of the settings shown in table 1 below. For each angle of incidence, measure the angle of refraction (Refraction [1]). Repeat the measurement with the incident ray striking from the opposite side of the normal (Refraction [2]). Notice the difference in the angles for refraction [1] and refraction [2]. Explain why? 4. Make a coordinate plot of the (sin of the angle of incidence) vs. (the sin of the angle of refraction). Find the best fit straight line for your two sets of data. 5. Measure the slope of your best fit lines. For acrylic, n = __________ 6. Are your two graphs consistent with the index of Refraction of acrylic? Explain. 7. Ask your Instructor to confirm your value. 8. Determine the percent error for Refraction [1] for the known (n) and your experimental (n). (n) known is 1.49, (n) for air is 1.00 (Procedure taken from online lab manual7 lab # 36)

Data and CalculationsPart 1

Part 2

Part 3

Analysis: Part 1 1. The rays are straight

2. The closer the slit plate and the viewing screen the thinner and more precise the rays become. The further they distance the wider the rays. 3. The slits become very wide compared to when the slit plate was vertical 4. As the angle becomes more horizontal, the thicker the rays become. (examples in data section) 5. The images are most distinct when the plate is vertical and least distinct when the plate is horizontal. 6. Like shown above in the data section, the light shines in a certain direction, that is why when it is vertical the liens are more distinct, because the rays are going along with the slits when it is horizontal it is perpendicular so the rays are not as distinct, they have to change and become wider like it is shown in my drawings in the data section. Part 2 2.2% Part 3 3. The reason that the angles for refraction are different is because the cylindrical lens is round on one side and flat on the other, so the refraction is going to be different when the lens is facing the other direction. The refraction points in a different direction on the flat side as compared to the round side.
1.2sin of angle of incedence vs. sin of angle of refraction 1 y = 1.4899x - 0.0015 1 R = 0.9998 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0 -0.2 0

Incidence

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

4.

Refraction

0.8 0.7 0.6 0.5 0.4 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 -0.1 0

y = 0.681x - 0.0107 R = 0.9984

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.2

5. n= 1.489 6. I would say that my results do stay consistent with the refraction index of acrylic because the value I got for n is the same as the accepted value.

7.---8. .0671% Questions 1. The difficulty in measuring angle of refraction with large angles of incidence is caused by the light being less refracted as the incidence becomes larger. That is why in the data the last few slots of refraction are not available because the light disappears with high angle of incidence. 2. Not all the light was refracted and some was reflected. This is because at a high angle of incidence the light is no longer refracted and has to be reflected. The reflection has to go somewhere; we can use the reflection to figure the alignment. 3. No the ray is not bent when perpendicular because there is no angle of refraction, nor a visible reflection, so it must be directed back at the source making it perpendicular. The refraction angle is 0 4. The same goes for this case because the refraction is 0, the ray does not bend.

ConclusionThe purpose of this lab is to be introduced to the concept of optics. This is what I learned. This experiment shows that rays can be bent depending on the index of refraction, everything either absorbed or refracts or reflects light. This experiment made the understanding of optics a lot easier. My errors were very low, meaning that this experiment was relatively successful and near perfection.