Three Methods to Estimate the Refractive Index of a CD-ROM with a Smartphone

• Wei Zhuang ^[1] ; Leyao Jiang ^[1] ; Jiasheng Wu ^[1] ; Caojin Yuan ^[1] ; Jiaxuan Wang ^[1] ; Jiawei Song ^[1]
  1. [1] Nanjing Normal University

     Nanjing Normal University

     China

     
• Localización: The Physics Teacher, ISSN 0031-921X, Vol. 62, Nº. 9, 2024, págs. 728-730
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
  • Texto completo
• Resumen

  • The refractive index (RI) is considered one of the most fundamental optical features of a sample, and estimating the RI, especially of a liquid, has become a popular topic in various STEM classes and events since it can help students to understand refraction conceptually.1–5 However, the RI can be estimated not only by Snell’s law, but also by the critical angle of total reflection as well as Brewster’s angle, where the latter two cases can be viewed as special cases of the refraction with no refracted ray and no reflected ray, respectively.