Geometrical Optics: Snell's Law

PHY101 Lab 12
Date: July 23rd, 2012

Objective:
The purpose of this laboratory activity is to develop a set of experimental procedures that answer questions regarding Snell's Law and the index of refraction. Ultimately, the experimental procedures you develop will allow the index of refraction to be found for water and cooking oil.

1. Explain how to experimentally determine the index of refraction of two substances. 2. Develop a set of experimental procedures to find the index of refraction for water and cooking oil. 3. Calculate the index of refraction using Snell's Law. 4. Explain critical angle and total internal reflection.

Materials

Materials from Lab Kit:
Laser
Conclusion I meet the purpose of the experiment, and design the whole procedure for the lab to find the index of refraction of water and oil. I use the Snell’s law, and calculate the result. I really love the procedure design process. In my designed process, I draw the vertical line to avoid mistakes. I use dots to mark to make the number more accurate, especially the angle. I also searched the Internet; I found out that a lot of Snell’s law experiments that are done with water tank. However, compared with the water tank they use, I prefer our refraction cell. The curved façade of the cell really make it a lot easier to measure the ray direction, as well as the angle.

In our daily life, refraction always happens and applied. When a fisherman is catching fish, the actual position of the fish is deeper than you see, because the light of the fish refracted from the water to air, and create a illusion that the position is very shallow. Moreover, everyday when people see the sun set, the actual position of sun is already totally below