Using the small-angle approximation to measure the index of refraction of water

Ronald Newburgh, Wolfgang Rueckner, Joseph Peidle, and Douglass Goodale

Citation: The Physics Teacher 38, 478 (2000); doi: 10.1119/1.1329088

View online: http://dx.doi.org/10.1119/1.1329088
View Table of Contents: http://aapt.scitation.org/toc/pte/38/8
Published by the American Association of Physics Teachers

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 N O T E

Using the Small-Angle Approximation to Measure

the Index of Refraction of Water
Ronald Newburgh, Harvard University Extension School, Cambridge, MA 02138; and Wolfgang Rueckner,
Joseph Peidle, and Douglass Goodale, Science Center, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138

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
glass.1 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 Fig. 1. Schematic drawing of apparatus. Light enters water at point A and is
refracted to point C. If tank is empty, the same ray strikes point B.
the ray, which enters the water at
point A and is refracted so that it
reaches point C at the bottom corner Now, if the incident beam is adjusted Since the index of refraction of air is
of the tank. Now, if the water is so that i (and hence r) are both very approximately equal to 1, the refrac-
drained out of the tank (or if an iden- small, we may use the small-angle tive index of water is simply given by
tical empty tank is substituted for the approximation, h/h
.
one containing water), the ray is
unrefracted and strikes the side of the tan  → sin  as  → 0, (4) Experimental Details
tank at point B. The refractive index The equipment used was a laser
of the water may be found by mea- to obtain pointer, a meterstick, and two identi-
suring the distances h and h
. cal glass tanks. One tank was filled
Referring to Fig. 1, the angles of sin i /sin r = h/h
. (5) with water to a depth of about 15.6
incidence and refraction are seen to cm while the other was left empty. A
be given by: Now, using Snell’s law, piece of masking tape was placed on
the empty tank to indicate the height
tan i = d/h
(1) sin i /sin r = n r /n i, (6) of the water in the filled tank. To
and make the light ray visible in the
tan r = d/h, (2) where ni and nr are, respectively, the water, we added a few drops of milk.
indices of refraction of air and water, This allowed us to determine easily
which leads to 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
it easy to replace it with the empty

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.
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
for ni = 1, nr = 1.33. The figure shows
Using the Small-Angle Approximation to Measure the Index of Refraction of Water
that the ratio does indeed approach
the constant value nr as the angle of
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 .
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 down,” i.e., when the
angle of incidence i is small.
In the experiment presented in this
paper, we measure no angles. Only
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-
tional Snell’s law experiment,1 is
intrinsically more accurate. In addi-
tion, it offers mathematical insight
(8) 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.
Vol. 38, Nov. 2000 THE PHYSICS TEACHER 479