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PRACTICE / Dispersion of light

Separate colour spread from deviation

A thin prism in air has apex angle 0.060 rad. Its refractive indices are 1.50 for red and 1.52 for violet. Use the small-angle prism approximation.

Find the violet-minus-red angular deviation.

Organize the givens & assumptions
  • A = 0.060 rad
  • nr = 1.50
  • nv = 1.52

Thin prism, paraxial angles in radians and negligible absorption; use δ ≈ (n − 1)A.

  1. A6.0×10−4 rad6.0\times10^{-4}\ \mathrm{rad}
  2. B1.2×10−3 rad1.2\times10^{-3}\ \mathrm{rad}
  3. C3.0×10−2 rad3.0\times10^{-2}\ \mathrm{rad}
  4. D6.0×10−2 rad6.0\times10^{-2}\ \mathrm{rad}

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