Question

On what factors does the refractive index of a prism depend?

Answer 1

Hint:Recall that the prism is a glass object, that has a triangular base and a transparent solid body. It has plane faces and is cut into precise angles from base. It is used in reflection and refraction of light in order to analyse the behaviour of light.

Complete solution:
The refractive index of a medium is defined as the ratio of speed of light in vacuum and to the speed of the light in that medium.
$n = \dfrac{c}{v}$
Where n is the refractive index of the medium
‘c’ is the speed of light in vacuum
‘v’ is the velocity of light in the medium
If the ray of light passes from the surroundings into the prism, then the refractive index of the prism depends on the refractive index of the surrounding medium, the nature of the medium also known as optical density, wavelength of the light and the temperature of the surroundings.
If the speed of the light in the medium decreases, then the refractive index of the medium will increase. When the white light is refracted it gets split into its constituent colours because the refractive index varies with the wavelength of different colours present in the spectrum.

Note: It is important to remember that the refractive index is directly proportional to the optical density of the medium. If an object has a high optical density or it is more denser, then its refractive index will increase and the speed of the light will decrease and vice versa.