Newtons Rings - Experiment N Aims

Newtons Rings -Experiment N
Aims
1. To utilise the phenomena of interference and superposition of waves to measure
and calculate the radius of curvature of a lens. Also, to determine the refractive
index of a liquid.
Introduction
Wave interference is a very important phenomenon that has many real-life examples. For
example, sound waves but also light waves as shown in this experiment.
During this experiment the refractive index of water is calculated. Refractive index is a measure
of the change in the speed of light as it passes from a vacuum into the material. Air can often be
used as a fair approximation instead of a vacuum.
Refractive index can be used in industry and applied to identify a particular substance, confirm
its purity, or measure its concentration. It can be used to measure the concentration of a solute
in an aqueous solution.[1] The refractive index of a material is defined by the equation:
c
n= where c is the speed of light in a vacuum and v is the speed of light in the given medium.
v
Radius of curvature of a lens is the distance at which the centre of curvature is located along
the optical axis. Diagram 1 helps to show this visually.
Radius of curvature is useful for identifying the focal length

in cameras, glasses and even our eyes. It is defined by the
1 1 1
equation: =(n−1)( + ) where R1 and R2 are the
f R1 R2
radii of curvature , f is the focal length and n is the index of
refraction.[2]
Diagram 1
Theory- interference and equations
Method
Diagram 2 shows the set-up of

equipment needed for this experiment.
The wave pattern is also shown with the
bright and dark fringes arising from
constructive and destructive
interference. Interference occurs when two or more waves arrive at the same point at the same
time.
A monochromatic light is needed. This allows the interference pattern to be stable due to there
being a constant amplitude and phase.
Diagram 2 Sodium light is used as it has two
wavelength peaks very close to each other which make it almost monochromatic. Sodium light
has a wavelength of 589.3nm .
As shown in diagram 2 , a lens is placed on the plate glass beneath the travelling microscope. A
plane window glass is used as a partially reflecting mirror to direct parallel light rays down onto
the glass lens- where interference patterns of dark and bright fringes will form. To ensure you
find the correct focal length of the lens, it is useful to initially focus the light on paper and then
move the lens below.
Using the travelling microscope and the coarse and fine traverse screws on them determine the
diameters of the dark fringes(2tn). Ensure that the optical surfaces are free of dust and that the
rings are circular and uniform and that the centre is black. We use dark fringes as they are
easier to locate and therefore give less of an error. Starting from the centre measure the
distance from the centre of each fringe measure both in the x and -x direction.
To measure the refractive index of water, place a drop of water on the plate and place the lens
on top so the water is sandwiched between. Then use the same procedure as above to
calculate the refractive index of water assuming the refractive index of air is 1.0.
Plot graphs of the radius of ring squared against ring order- from the gradient the unknown
values can be determined.
Results
The Data tables for each lens are shown in the index section.
Results for Lens 5:

Using the equation:
2
μ t n =n λ0 r 0
where μis the refractive index, t n2 is the radius of the ring squared, n is the fringe number, λ 0 is
the wavelength of the sodium lamp and r 0 is the radius of curvature of the lens.
The graph shown has t n2 plotted against n. therefore the gradient of the graph is defined by:
λ0 r 0
.
μ
To calculate ro use the known values in the expression for the gradient and equate to the
numerical gradient shown in the table above. μ has a value of 1 in air so that cancels. As the
gradient has units m-6 we must divide the expression by 106 to get r0 in m.
λ r
0.1513= 0 0
μ
0.1513= 0 r 0
λ
0.1513
−9 6
=r 0
(589.3 X 10 )(10 )
r 0 =0.2567=0.26 m¿ 2. s . f .
Results for Lens 6
Using the same method for lens 5 as above the radius of curvature of the lens can be
calculated.
0.15911
−9 6
=r 0
(589.3 X 10 )(10 )
r 0 =¿0.269998=0.27 to 2.s.f.
Results for Lens 6 with water
As we have calculated r0 from lens 6 without water we can now use this to calculate the
refractive index of water. This time μ is the unknown, this gives us the expression for the
gradient:
λ r (589.3 X 10−9 )(0.2699)
0.12453x10-6 = 0 0 =
μ μ
So μ=¿1.27764..= 1.28 to 3.s.f.
Discussion
The values of radius of curvature of the lens that were calculated are of the expected order of
magnitude. Comparing the values for lens 5 and 6 we got very similar lengths. The two values
were 0.26 and 0.27 m. As they are in a similar range and of expected magnitude shows these
results are fairly accurate. We made the assumption of the refractive index of air to be 1.0
when it is slightly higher. This may have made our values slightly smaller than they should be ,
but this will be a tiny error.
The actual refractive index of water is given as 1.36621[3]. This is higher than our result by 0.089.
This gives chi squared value of. 5.74x10-3 which is very low and shows the two data sets have a
very strong relationship. This validates our result.
There are some things that may have led to the error in our value.
The travelling microscope produces an error due to its scale. It has a scale of 0.01mm so the
error is 0.005mm, as we square the radius in our calculations, we have an overall error of
0.00025mm. This error is extremely small and the error bars plotted on the graphs can’t even
be seen. This suggests a different error affected our results.
Potentially the light wasn’t correctly lined up and reflected onto the lens- this could cause less
clear interference patterns which would have led to uncertainties in the measurement of the
fringes.
Furthermore the wavelength of the actual sodium light used could be different to the stated
value, leading to further uncertainty.
Conclusion
Newtons rings experiment gives a simple and effective way of looking at the phenomena of
wave superposition and interference. The radius of curvature of a lens and refractive index are
easily calculated using simple equipment.
The results calculated are reliable and valid. The chi squared value of the comparison between
expected and observed results of the refractive index of water confirms the accuracy of the
data. Furthermore, all data points fell within expected ranges showing this was a viable and
worthwhile investigation.
Index
Lens 5
Lens 6
Lens 6 with water
References
1. Koohyar F (2013) Refractive Index and Its Applications. J Thermodyn Catal 4: e117.
doi:10.4172/2157-7544.1000e117
2. https://www.compadre.org/Physlets/optics/ex35_5.cfm , accessed 5/02/2021
3. Absolute Measurement of the Refractive Index of Water by a Mode-Locked Laser at 518
nm, April 2018 , Zhaopeng Meng,
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324421715_Absolute_Measurement_of_the
_Refractive_Index_of_Water_by_a_Mode-Locked_Laser_at_518_nm
4.

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Newtons Rings -Experiment N

Radius of curvature is useful for identifying the focal length

Diagram 2 shows the set-up of

Results for Lens 5:

Results for Lens 6

Lens 6 with water

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