Question

If a 60° glass prism has a refractive index of 1•5 what is it's angle of minimum deviation

Answer 1

The angle of minimum deviation can be calculated using the formula:

sin((A+D)/2) = n sin(A/2)

Where:
A is the angle of the prism (60°)
D is the angle of minimum deviation
n is the refractive index (1.5)

Rearranging the equation, we have:

sin(D/2) = (sin(A/2)) / n

Plugging in the given values, we get:

sin(D/2) = (sin(60°/2)) / 1.5
sin(D/2) = (sin(30°)) / 1.5
sin(D/2) = (0.5) / 1.5
sin(D/2) = 0.3333

Using the inverse sine function, we can find the value of D/2:

D/2 = arcsin(0.3333)
D/2 ≈ 19.47°

To find D, we double the value of D/2:

D = 2 * 19.47°
D ≈ 38.94°

Therefore, the angle of minimum deviation for the 60° glass prism with a refractive index of 1.5 is approximately 38.94°.