Many materials have a well-characterized refractive index, but these indices depend strongly upon the frequency of light. Standard refractive index measurements are taken at yellow doublet sodium D line, with a wavelength of 589 nanometres.
There are also weaker dependencies on temperature, pressure/stress, et cetera, as well on precise material compositions (presence of dopants et cetera); for many materials and typical conditions, however, these variations are at the percent level or less. Thus, it is especially important to cite the source for an index measurement if precision is required.
In general, an index of refraction is a complex number with both a real and imaginary part, where the latter indicates the strength of absorption loss at a particular wavelength—thus, the imaginary part is sometimes called the extinction coefficient k. Such losses become particularly significant, for example, in metals at short (e.g. visible) wavelengths, and must be included in any description of the refractive index.
Contents |
List
| Material | λ (nm) | n | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vacuum | 1 (per definition) | ||
| Air @ STP | 1.000277 | ||
| Gases @ 0 °C and 1 atm | |||
| Air | 589.29 | 1.000293 | [1] |
| Helium | 589.29 | 1.000036 | [1] |
| Hydrogen | 589.29 | 1.000132 | [1] |
| Carbon dioxide | 589.29 | 1.00045 | [2] |
| Liquids @ 20 °C | |||
| Benzene | 589.29 | 1.501 | [1] |
| Carbon disulfide | 589.29 | 1.628 | [1] |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 589.29 | 1.461 | [1] |
| Ethyl alcohol (ethanol) | 589.29 | 1.361 | [1] |
| Silicone oil | 1.52045 | [5] | |
| Water | 589.29 | 1.3330 | [1] |
| Arsenic trisulfide and sulfur in methylene iodide | 1.9 | [6] | |
| Solids @ room temperature | |||
| Diamond | 589.29 | 2.419 | [1] |
| Strontium titanate | 589.29 | 2.41 | |
| Amber | 589.29 | 1.55 | [1] |
| Fused silica (also called Fused Quartz) | 589.29 | 1.458 | [1] |
| Sodium chloride | 589.29 | 1.50 | [1] |
| Other materials | |||
| Water ice | 1.31 | ||
| cornea (human) | 1.3375 | ||
| Cryolite | 1.338 | ||
| Acetone | 1.36 | ||
| Ethanol | 1.36 | ||
| Teflon | 1.35 - 1.38 | ||
| lens (human) | 1.386 - 1.406 | ||
| Sylgard 184 | 1.43 | ||
| Pyrex (a borosilicate glass) | 1.470 | [7] | |
| Glycerol | 1.4729 | ||
| Acrylic glass | 1.490 - 1.492 | ||
| Rock salt | 1.516 | ||
| Crown glass (pure) | 1.50 - 1.54 | ||
| Polycarbonate | 1.584 - 1.586 | ||
| PMMA | 1.4893 - 1.4899 | ||
| PETg | 1.57 | ||
| PET | 1.5750 | ||
| Flint glass (pure) | 1.60 - 1.62 | ||
| Crown glass (impure) | 1.485 - 1.755 | ||
| Bromine | 1.661 | ||
| Sapphire | 1.762–1.778 | ||
| Flint glass (impure) | 1.523 - 1.925 | ||
| Cubic zirconia | 2.15 - 2.18 | ||
| Potassium Niobate (KNbO3) | 2.28 | ||
| Moissanite | 2.65 - 2.69 | ||
| Cinnabar (Mercury sulfide) | 3.02 | ||
| Gallium(III) phosphide | 3.5 | ||
| Gallium(III) arsenide | 3.927 | ||
| Zinc Oxide | 390 | 2.4 | |
| Silicon | 4.01 | [8] | |
See also
- Sellmeier equation
- Corrective lens#Ophthalmic material property tables
- Optical properties of water and ice
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Optics, Fourth Edition. Pearson Higher Education. 18 March 2003. ISBN 9780321188786 [Amazon-US | Amazon-UK].
- ^ Introduction to Geometrical and Physical Optics. McGraw-Hill Book Company, INC.. 1953.
- ^ Handbook of Chemistry and Physics. Chemical Rubber Publishing Co.. 1957.
- ^ Introduction to Optics, Third Edition. Pearson Prentice Hall. 2007. p. 221. ISBN 0-13-149933-5.
- ^ Silicon and Oil Refractive Index Standards
- ^ Meyrowitz, R, A compilation and classification of immersion media of high index of refraction, American Mineralogist 40: 398 (1955)
- ^ University of Liverpool. "Absolute Refractive Index". http://www.matter.org.uk/schools/Content/Refraction/absolute.html. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
- ^ "Optical Properties of Silicon". http://pvcdrom.pveducation.org/APPEND/OPTICAL.HTM. Retrieved 2009-05-31.
External links
- International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam
- Filmetrics Corporation of San Diego, California, 2002
- Ioffe institute, Russian Federation
- Crystran, United Kingdom
- Jena University, Germany
- Hyperphysics list of refractive indices
- Luxpop: Index of refraction values and photonics calculations
- Kaye and Laby Online Provided by the National Physical Laboratory, UK
- List of Refractive Indices of Solvents
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