Question

State the dependence of the angle deviation:
(i) On the refractive index of the material of the given prism.
(ii) On the wavelength of light incident on the prism

Answer 1

Hint: Refractive index is playing a major role in the deviation produced in the prism. Flint glass is a kind of glass with a greater refractive index. Crown glass is another variety of glass which is having a lower refractive index in general. Wavelength of the light is given by the ratio of the velocity of light to the frequency of the light used. These all may help you to solve this question.

Complete answer:
(i) For a particular angle of incidence, the prism with a higher refractive index such as flint glass makes a greater deviation than the prism which is having a lower refractive index such as crown glass. This means that larger the refractive index of a prism, then larger will be the angle of deviation also.
The relation between the refractive indices and the angle of deviation can be shown by the equation,
$\delta =\left( \mu -1 \right)A$
Where $\delta $ be the angle of deviation, $\mu $ be the refractive index, $A$ be the angle of prism.
(ii) Angle of deviation is related to the wavelength of the light incident on the prism is given by,
$\delta \propto \dfrac{1}{\lambda }$
Where $\delta $ be the angle of deviation and $\lambda $ be the wavelength of the light used. That is the angle of deviation gets decreased with the increases of the wavelength of light.

Note:
The angle of deviation is described as the angle which has been obtained as the difference between the angle of incidence and the angle of refraction. This has been created by the ray of light travelling from one medium to another which are having a different refractive index. The angle of deviation depends on the angle of incidence also.