PROCEDURE

1. Make all necessary adjustments of the spectrometer as detailed in the attache

d appendix - Adjusting
the Spectrometer.
2. Determine the refracting angle, a of the prism and use this value in subseque
nt calculations. To
?nd the angle of the prism a, illuminate the slit with a light source, rotate th
e table until the
corresponding apex of the prism faces the collimator. Lock the table wit LOCK B,
and rotate the
telescope to ?nd the re?ected image of the slit in each face of the prism in tur
n. The angle between
these two telescope positions is twice the angle a. It is left to you to justify
this relation and
include the justi?cation in your lab notebook.
Figure 4: Measuring the Prism Angle4/5 PHY 4264L Prism Spectrometer Optics Lab M
anual
3. Now place the mercury lamp in front of the slit and put the prism on the spec
trometer table,
positioned as in Figure 1. Turn the telescope and the prism until the mercury li
ne spectrum comes
into view. Now set the prism in the position of minimum deviation. To do this, u
nlock LOCK B and
rotate the prism table slowly, simultaneously moving the telescope to keep the s
pectrum in view. At
a certain position of the prism the spectrum will stop moving and then start to
move in the reverse
direction. This is the position for minimum deviation. Locate this position accu
rately, and lock the
table.
4. By means of the ?ne adjustment screw of the telescope, ?nd the position and h
ence the angle of
deviation d for each of the lines. Determine the angles of minimum deviation for
each of the following
lines in the mercury spectrum.
To measure the angle of minimum deviation:
(a.) Attach the prism in place as shown in Figure ??.
(b.) Place the light source a few centimeters behind the slit of the collimator.
(It may be helpful to
partially darken the room, but when using the prism this is often not necessary.
)
(c.) With the prism, it is generally possible to see the refracted light with th
e naked eye. Locate the
general direction to which the light is refracted, then align the telescope and
spectrometer table
base so the slit image can be viewed through the telescope.
(d.) While looking through the telescope, rotate the spectrometer table slightly
back and forth. No-
tice that the angle of refraction for the spectral line under observation change
s. Rotate the
spectrometer table until this angle is a minimum, then rotate the telescope to a
lign the vertical
cross-hair with the ?xed edge of the slit image. Use the ?ne adjust knobs to mak
e these
adjustments as precisely as possible, then measure the telescope angle using the
vernier scale.
(e.) Without changing the rotation of the spectrometer table, remove the prism a
nd rotate the tele-
scope to align the cross-hair with the ?xed edge of the undiffracted beam. Measu
re the angle on
the vernier scale. The difference between this angle and that recorded for the d
iffracted spectral
line in step 5, is the angle of minimum deviation. Notice that generally, since
the determination
of the angle of minimum deviation for each spectral line requires rotational adj
ustments of the
spectrometer table, the angle of the unde?ected beam must be remeasured for each
line.
Color Wavelength Intensity
R1 690.716 nm (Faint)
R2 623.437 nm (Weak)
Y1 576.959 nm (Strong)
Y2 579.065 nm (Strong)
G 546.074 nm (Very Strong)
BG 491.604 nm (Weak)
B 435.835 nm (Very Strong)
V1 407.781 nm (Weak)
V2 404.656 nm (Strong)
5. Plot a graph of d against the wavelength ?. The curve so obtained is called a
calibration curve.
6. Determine the values of the index of refraction of the prism for each of the
above lines by the
minimum deviation formula. Plot n versus ? using this data. This plot is called
a dispersion curve for
the prism.
7. Do a least squares ?t of the data to the Cauchy formula
n = A + B
?25/5 PHY 4264L Prism Spectrometer Optics Lab Manual
and obtain the Cauchy constants, A and B .
8. Using the values of A and B determined from your ?t calculate the index of re
fraction using the
Cauchy formula and compare to your actual measured values. Are the values predic
ted by the Cauchy
formula within the estimated error of the measured values?
9. Determine the resolving power of the prism with the de?nition
R = ?
d?
,
using the two mercury yellow lines. Take d? = ?2 - ?1 and ? = ?2+?1
2