Question

As shown in the figure, white light enters a 45-90-45 crown glass prism at the vertical face. Part of this light refracts at the slanted face into the surrounding material and the rest experiences total internal reflection and exits the prism at the horizontal base. The colors of light that emerge from the slanted face may be chosen by varying the index of refraction of the material surrounding the prism. Determine the required index of refraction of the surrounding material for each of the following cases.

(a) Only red and orange light refract from the slanted face of the prism into the surrounding material. (Express your answer to 4 significant figures.)


(b) All colors except violet and blue light refract from the slanted face of the prism into the surrounding material. (Express your answer to 4 significant figures.)

The table below shows the different colors of light, their wavelength in a vacuum, and the index of refraction in crown glass.

Color	Vacuum Wavelength (nm)	Index of Refraction in Crown Glass (nm)
Red	660	1.512
Orange	610	1.514
Yellow	580	1.518
Green	550	1.519
Blue	470	1.524
Violet	410	1.530

Answer 1