PH110

PHYSICS LABORATORY

Instruction Manual
January – April 2013

Course Coordinator: Dr. S. B. Santra

Co-coordinators: Dr. S. K. Khijwania, Dr. P. K. Padmanabhan, Dr. B. Bhuyan, Dr. U. Raha

Department of Physics
Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
Page 2 of 29
 CONTENTS

Topic Page No

Instructions to Students 03
Introduction to Error Analysis 05
Expt.1: Determination of g by compound pendulum 09
Expt.2: Time constant of a capacitive circuit 11
Expt.3: Magnetic field along the axis of a coil 14
Expt.4: Resonance and Q factor of a LCR circuit 16
Expt.5: Study of Hall Effect in an extrinsic semiconductor 19
Expt.6: Speed of light in glass 22
Expt.7: Fraunhofer diffraction: Single Slit 25
Expt.8: Newton’s ring 27

Page 3 of 29
Page 4 of 29
 INSTRUCTIONS TO STUDENTS

(1) Class timing: 09:00 – 12:00 Hrs. No student will be allowed after 09:10 Hrs.
(2) You must bring with you the following material to the lab: report sheets (A4 size
papers), pen, pencil, small scale, instruction manual, graph sheets, calculator and any
other stationary item required. PENCIL is to be used only for graph plotting. Data
should be recorded with PEN.
(3) Submit a cover file to the technical assistant on the first day of Laboratory class.
Write down your Name, Roll No., and Group on the file cover. You should file your
laboratory record regularly in your file. You are NOT allowed to take your reports
back. You will be given your file and records back before the end-semester
examination of the laboratory course.
(4) At least one set of observation should be signed by the instructor. An unsigned
observation data will be awarded ZERO.
(5) You are expected to perform the experiment, complete the calculation and data
analysis during the laboratory hours. Submit the report before 12:00 hrs, late
submission may cause subtraction of marks.
(6) Laboratory manual will be available in Xerox shop, Core IV.
(7) Read the instruction manual carefully before coming to the laboratory class.

Report must be prepared in the following format:

1) Name of the experiment, Your Name, Roll No., lab group, and date of experiment.
2) Working formula, meaning of symbols and the schematic diagram of the
experimental setup. (DO NOT write the theory of the experiment.)
3) Experimental specifications: apparatus/instruments used in the experiment
4) Least count of all the equipment, constants if any to be used and the well tabulated
observations. Observation tables should be neat and self-explanatory. (Typical
tabular columns have been given for some of the experiments. You may make your
own format). All physical quantities in the table should have suitable units.
5) Graph(s), if applicable, with title of the graph, scaling used for the two axes,
suitable units for each axis, equation of linear fit, if any.
6) Relevant substitutions, calculations, data analysis and results.
7) An error analysis should be performed and the results should be reported with
maximum possible error.

Your lab report should be ready with information (1) and (2) before coming to the lab.
Marks are allocated for this initial preparation.

Page 5 of 29
 Scheme of evaluation

Laboratory reports will have 30% marks and the end semester will have 70% marks. Each
laboratory report will be evaluated for 30 marks and final laboratory report mark will be the
average of 8 experiments. Performing 8 experiments is must. If a student misses an
experiment, marks for that experiment will be taken as zero for averaging.

LABORATORY REPORT END SEMESTER EXAMINATION

(a) Initial Preparation 5 (a) Working formula, diagrams, etc. 10
(b) Data collection 10 (b) Data collection 15
(c) Calculation 10 (c) Calculation 15
(d) Error analysis and result 5 (d) Error analysis and result 10
(e) Viva ---- (e) Viva 20
Total 30 Total 70

1. Though there is no mark for viva during the lab, there will be discussion on the
experiment at the time of singing the data and initial preparation.
2. End semester viva will be conducted individually during the examination. Viva
will cover questions from all eight experiments.

Page 6 of 29
 INTRODUCTION TO ERROR ANALYSIS

All physical measurements are subject to various types of error. It is important to reduce the
effect of errors to a minimum. In order to know the uncertainty in measurement or to know
the deviation from the true value of a measured quantity, it is important to have an idea of the
sources of error as well as estimates. Error involved in any measurement may be broadly
classified as (a) systematic error and (b) random error.

(a) Systematic Error: Errors that are not revealed through an entire set of measurements
are termed systematic errors. Systematic errors may arise because of instrumental
defect or experimental bias.

(i) Instrumental errors: Zero offset (instrument does not read zero when input is
zero) or incorrect calibration of the instrument or changes of calibration
conditions (due change in temperature, pressure or any other environmental
changes) are the example of instrumental errors. Zero error can be detected
beforehand and all the observations are corrected accordingly.

(ii) Experimenter’s bias: This is a common source of error arising from some bias
of the experimenter and is difficult to eliminate. For example, parallax error in
reading an analog meter is often encountered if suitable care is not taken to view
the indicator needle perpendicular to the meter face.

Systematic errors are hard to handle. They are best identified and eliminated.

(b) Random Error: Fluctuations in the recording of data or in the instrumental

measuring process result in random errors. The effect of random errors can be
minimized by appropriate data processing techniques.

Probable error: Most of the experiments involve measurement of several different quantities
which are combined to arrive at the final deduced quantity y. Measurement of each of these
quantities is limited in accuracy by the least count of the instrument. These errors give rise to
a maximum possible error. It can be estimated in the following manner. Suppose the physical
quantity, y, is given by the relation
= (7)

where C, m and n are known constants. Experimental determination of y involves

measurement of x1 and x2. The overall maximum uncertainty or maximum possible error in y
is given in terms of errors ∆x1 and ∆x2 (uncertainties in the measurement) in the quantities x1
and x2 respectively, by

Page 7 of 29
 ∆ ∆ ∆
= . + (8)

Note that both contributions add up to give the maximum possible error in y, irrespective of
whether m or n is positive or negative. This can be illustrated with the help of the following
example. The electrical resistivity of a wire of circular cross section is given by

= (9)

where r is the radius and l is the length of the wire, V is the voltage and I is the current
flowing through the wire. The maximum possible error in the measurement of resistivity
depends on the fractional uncertainties in the voltage, current, etc. and is given by
∆ ∆ ∆ ∆ ∆
=2 + + + (10)

Least Squares Fit: When the data (xi ,yi) are linearly related by
= + (11)

the best estimates for the slope a and intercept b of the straight line are obtained as follows: If
y is the true value as defined by the eqn.(11), then one should minimize the quantity ∑ ( −
) =∑( − − ) with respect to a and b. By differentiating this expression with
respect to a and b, setting them to zero and solving the two simultaneous equations, we get
the best estimates of a and b as
∑ −∑ ∑
= (12)
∑ − (∑ )

∑ ∑ −∑ ∑
= (13)
∑ − (∑ )

After obtaining the values of a and b, plot the straight line y = ax + b using those values. Plot
the observed points too on the same graph. The errors in and obtained in this way are
given below.

∑
∆ =± ∑ (∑ )
∆ =± ∑ (∑ )
(14)

See how well the data are clustered around this straight line. Quite often you may be able to
reduce the equation to the linear form by a suitable rearrangement. For example if y = cex,
then ln(y) = lnc+ x, so a plot of ln(y) Vsx would be a straight line.

References

[1]. J. R. Taylor, An Introduction to Error Analysis, University Science Books (1997).

Page 8 of 29
 Experiment: 1

Determination of the value of acceleration due to gravity with the help of a

compound pendulum

Theory: The time period of oscillation of a body constrained to rotate about a horizontal axis
for small amplitudes is given by
/
=2 (1)

where m is the mass of the body, d is the distance between centre of mass (CM) and the axis
of oscillations and I is the moment of inertia (MI) about the axis of oscillations. If Io is the MI
of a body about a parallel axis through CM, then by parallel axis theorem,

= + (2)

Let K be the radius of gyration (i.e., I0 = mK2), then

4
= ( + ) (3)

By observing period of oscillation T by varying d we can obtain the values of gravitational

acceleration g as well as moment of inertia Io of the body. Note that the time period will be
minimum at d = K.

Experimental Setup: In this experiment the rigid body is a long rectangular bar with a series
of holes drilled at regular interval to facilitate suspension at various points along its length. A
screw type knife-edge can be fitted to the bar at these points. The knife-edge can be rested on
a wall-mount so that the bar is free to move in a vertical plane. The radius of gyration for this
bar is
+
= (4)
12

Procedure:
1) Determine the centre of mass of the bar by balancing it on a knife-edge.
2) Measure length l and breadth b of the rectangular bar at least three times to calculate
K using eqn.(4).
3) Suspend the bar by means of knife-edge.
4) Measure d from the sharp end of the knife-edge (and not from the centre of the hole),
which is the point of suspension, to the centre of mass of the bar.
5) Measure time for around 20 oscillations for different d (only on one side of CM).
Repeat each observation three times for a given d.

Page 9 of 29
Suggested Observation Table:
1. Length of the bar =
2. Breath of the bar =
3. Mass of the bar =

Sl. d d2 t1 t2 t3 t= T=t/20 T2d

(m) (m2) (sec) (sec) (sec) (t1+t2+t3)/3 (sec) (m2-Sec)

Analysis:
1. Plot T2d versus d2.
2. Calculate K and g least square fitting.
3. Calculate the maximum possible error in the measurement of g.

References:
1. D. Kleppner and R. J. Kolenkow, An Introduction to Mechanics, McGraw-Hill
(1999).
2. C. Kittel, W. D. Knight, M. A. Ruderman, C. A. Helmholz and B. J. Moyer,
Mechanics (Berkley Physics Course - Volume 1), Tata McGraw-Hill (2008).

Page 10 of 29
 Experiment: 2

Determination of time constant of a RC Circuit

Theory: A capacitor can be used to store the energy by accumulation of charges and a
charged capacitor can be used to deliver the energy by discharging it through a load. Both
charging and discharging are not instantaneous. It can be shown that the charging and
discharging times depend on the capacitance of the capacitor and total resistance of the
circuit.

Fig. 2.1

Charging: For the circuit (Fig.2.1), (with switch K1 closed and K2 open) containing a
capacitance C, a resistance R and a source of constant voltage V0, the equation for the
potential (neglecting the source resistance and resistance of the ammeter) is

= + (1)

where is the current in the circuit and q is the charge accumulated on the capacitor. Both i
and q may be functions of time. Since i = dq/dt we get the equation for q as

= + (2)

The solution of this equation is

= 1− (3)

whereτ is the time constant of the circuit and is equal to RC. The current iis given by
/
= = (4)

The voltage across C is given by

/
= 1− (5)

Equations (4) and (5) describe the decay of current in the circuit and growth of voltage on the
capacitor, respectively, during the charging of a capacitor.

Page 11 of 29
Discharging: When key K1 is open and K2 is closed, with the capacitor charged to a voltage
V0,discharging of the capacitor through the resistance R is described by the following
relations:
/
= (6)

= =− / (7)

/
= (8)

Equations (7) and (8) describe the decay of current in the circuit and decay of voltage across
C, respectively, during the discharging process.

Procedure:
1. Assemble the circuit as shown in Fig. 2.1. The experiment is to be performed for only
one value of R.
2. Set the source voltage V0 (from the power supply) between 2 to 4 V such that the
largest (initial) current (i0=V0/R) has a reasonable value.
3. Set the ammeter (shown as µA in Fig. 2.1) in an appropriate range (estimate the range
from V0 and R).
4. Decay of current during charging: Complete the charging circuit by closing the key
K1 (keeping K2 open) and simultaneously start a stopwatch. Measure the current i as
a function of time at convenient intervals (say 10 seconds).
5. Decay of current during discharging: After charging C to the full voltage, discharge it
through R. For this purpose disconnect the power supply by opening key K1. Close
the Key K2 and start the stopwatch. Again measure the current as a function of time at
convenient intervals (say, 10 seconds).
6. Study decay of current either during charging or during discharging the capacitor.

Observation Tables:
Value of the capacitance C=2200µF.
Resistance R=

Sl. Time(in sec) Current(in µA) ln(i/i0)

1 10
2 20
. .
. .
30 300

1. Plot ln(i/i0) as a function of time t.

2. Using the linear regression technique to fit the data and draw the best-fit line on the
graph.

Page 12 of 29
 3. Determine the time constant of the circuit and compare it with the theoretically
calculated value.
4. Estimate the error in for = .

References:
1. E. M. Purcell, Electricity and Magnetism (Berkley Physics Course - Volume 2),
Tata McGraw-Hill (2008).
2. D. Halliday and R. Resnick, Physics II, Wiley Eastern Limited (1966).

Page 13 of 29
 Experiment: 3

Determination of the magnetic field intensity along the axis of a circular

current carrying coil

Theory: For a circular coil of n turns, carrying a current I, the magnetic field along its axis is
given by

( )= (1)
2( + ) /

where R is the radius of the coil.

Fig. 3.1.

In this experiment, the coil is oriented such that the plane of the coil is vertical and parallel to
the north-south direction. The axis of the coil and the field produced by the coil are parallel to
the east-west direction (Fig. 3.1). The net field at any point x along the axis is the vector sum
of the fields due the coil B(x) and that due to the earth BE.
( )
= (2)

Fig.3.2
Procedure:
1. The apparatus consists of a coil mounted perpendicular to the base. A sliding compass
box is mounted on aluminium rails so that the compass is always on the axis of the
coil. Orient the apparatus such that the coil is in the north-south plane. (You may use
the red dot on the bar magnet as reference). Adjust the leveling screws to make the
base horizontal. Make sure that the compass is moving freely. Connect the circuit as
shown in the Fig. 3.2. Place the compass box at the centre of the coil and rotate it so
that the pointers indicate 0-0. The experiment is to be performed only along one
side of the coil.
2. Close the keys K and KR (make sure that you are not shorting the power supply) and
adjust the current with the potentiometer, Rh so that the deflection of the pointer is
between 50o and 60 o. The current is kept fixed at this value for the rest of the
experiment.
3. Note down the readings θ1 and θ2. Reverse the current by suitably connecting the
keys of KR and note down θ3 and θ4.
4. Repeat the experiment by moving the compass box at intervals of 2cm along the axis
upto 20cm (10 data points).

Observation Tables:
No of turns of the coil, n =.........
Radius of the coil, R = 10 cm
Current in the coil, I =.........
Permeability of air, µ0 = 4π× 10 −7 N/A 2
Earth’s magnetic field, BE = 0.39 × 10 -4 T

x
θ1 θ2 θ3 θ4 θ avg tan θ
(cm) 4 4

All θs should be in suitable units.

1. Plot ( ) = tan against x.

2. Identify the values of for = 0, 10 & 20cms from the graph and compare with the
theoretical values.
3. Estimate the maximum possible errors in B at these positions.

References:
1. D. J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, Prentice-Hall (1999).

Page 15 of 29
 Experiment: 4

Determination of resonant frequency and quality factor of a LCR circuit

Theory: Consider the following LCR series circuit.

Fig.4.1

If the applied voltage is = ( )= ( ), the output voltage is given by

= = =
+ + + + + −
The magnitude of is given by

| |=
+ −

( )
The phase of with respect to is defined as = | | , where the phase angle
is defined as
Imaginary −
tan = =
Real

Depending on , and , the phase angle could be positive or negative.

Fig.4.2

Page 16 of 29
The current amplitude = | |⁄ is plotted against the frequency = /2 in Fig.4.2 for
different values of . The current becomes maximum at the resonant frequency for all . The
maximum current amplitude decreases with increasing . For a given , when is small the
reactance = is small and the reactance = 1⁄ is large. Thus the current is mainly
capacitive and the impedance is dominated by , which keeps the current low. As
increases, decreases and increases. The decrease in reduces the impedance and
allowing the current to increase. The current becomes maximum when =
corresponding to the resonant frequency . If the frequency is further increased beyond
, will dominate over and cause increase in the impedance which will keep the
current low again.

There is an exact analogy between a LCR circuit and a forced damped harmonic oscillator.
The equation for the charge oscillation in the LCR circuit considered here is given by
+ + = cos ( )
with natural frequency = 1⁄√ . On the other hand, if a particle of mass is subject to
an external periodic force ( ) = , the equation of motion is given by
+ + = cos ( )
where is the damping force constant, is the restoring force constant, with natural
frequency = ⁄ . One finds both the equations are exactly same with the equivalent
quantities: ≡ , ≡ , ≡ and ≡ 1⁄ . In both the cases, resonance occurs when the
driving frequency is equal to the natural frequency .

Resonant frequency : At resonance, the imaginary part of the impedance vanishes. For
the series LCR circuit considered here the impedance is given by
= + + = + ( − 1⁄ )
Hence, at resonance one has = 1⁄ or,
1
=
√

Quality factor Q of a circuit: Q determines how well the LCR circuit stores energy and it is
defined by
=2

per cycle. The maximum energy stored in the inductor is ⁄2 with = . There is no
energy stored in the capacitor at this instant because and are 90 out of phase. The
energy lost in one cycle is (Power)x(time for cycle), i.e., × = × . Hence

⁄2 1
=2 = =

There is another equivalent expression for and it is given by

=
∆

Page 17 of 29
where ∆ω is the bandwidth of the resonance curve. corresponds to the width where VR
drops to 1/√2 of its maximum value as shown in Fig.4.3. Note that, can be measured from
the resonance curve itself, one does not need to know , , or to find .

VR
Vm

Vm/√2
∆

Fig.4.3

Procedure:
1. Assemble the circuit as shown in Fig 4.1.
2. Set the function generator for sinusoidal signal and adjust the peak to peak amplitude
of the signal to some suitable value (around 1 to 2V) and keep it constant throughout
the experiment.
3. Record the voltage drop across the resistance R as a function of frequency in a
suitable step. Make sure that you have sufficient data point on either side of the
resonance frequency (so as to measure the value of τ).

Observation Table:
L=4mH, C=0.1µF.
R=
Frequency Input voltage Output voltage
Sl. ω = 2πf
(f, in kHz) (V) (across R, in mV)
1 2.5
2 3.0
3 3.5
.

1. Plot the amplitude of voltage VR against the frequency .

2. Obtain the resonant frequency and measure the bandwidth τ from the plot.
Estimate Q factor.
3. Compare the values of and Q with theoretical values.
4. Estimate the maximum possible error in the measurement of Q.

References:D. Halliday and R. Resnick, Physics II, Wiley Eastern Limited (1966).

Page 18 of 29
 Experiment: 5

Determination of type and density of majority charge carriers in an

extrinsic semiconductor by Hall Effect

Theory: Consider a rectangular slab of semiconductor with thickness d kept in XY plane (see
Fig.4.l). An electric field is applied in x-direction so that a current I flows through the sample.
If w is width of the sample and d is the thickness, the current density is given by Jx= I/wd

w
q VH
X
Jx
Z
d

Fig.5.1

Now a magnetic field B is applied along positive Z-axis (Fig.5.1). The moving charges are
under the influence of magnetic force ⃗ × ⃗ , which results in accumulation of majority
charge carriers towards one side of the material (along Y direction in the present case). This
process continues until the electric force due to accumulated charges (qE) balances the
magnetic force. So, in a steady state the net Lorentz force experienced by charge carriers will
be zero. The potential thus developed across Y direction is known as Hall voltage VH
(perpendicular to both current and the field directions) and this effect is called Hall effect.
Thus under steady state condition
⃗= ⃗+ ⃗× ⃗ =0 (1)

where ⃗ is the drift velocity of charge carriers. In the present case Eq.(1) can be written as,

= = (2)

where n is the charge density and q is the charge of each carrier. The ratio (Ey/JxBz) is called
the Hall co-efficient RH. Thus

= = (3)

From Eqs.(2) and (3), the Hall co-efficient can also be written as

Page 19 of 29
 1
= (4)

From Eq.(4) it is clear that the type of charge carrier and its density can be estimated from the
sign and the value of Hall co-efficient RH. It can be obtained by studying the variation of VH
as a function of I for a given B.

Experimental Setup: Sample is mounted on an insulating sheet with four spring type
pressure contacts. A pair of green colour leads is provided for current and that of red colour
for Hall voltage. Note the direction of current and voltage measurement carefully. Do not
exceed current beyond 8 mA.

The unit marked "Hall Effect Set-up" consists of a constant current source (CCS) for
supplying current to the sample and a digital milli-voltmeter to measure the Hall voltage. The
unit has a single digital display used for both current and Hall voltage measurement.

For applying the magnetic field an electromagnet with a constant current supply is provided.
It is capable of generating a magnetic field of 0.75 Tesla for 10mm gap between its pole
pieces. The magnetic field can be measured using gauss meter along with the given Hall
probe.

Procedure:
1. Connect the leads from the sample to the "Hall effect Set-up" unit. Connect the
electromagnet to constant current supply.
2. Switch on the electromagnet and set suitable magnetic field density (< 0.3 Tesla) by
varying the current supplied to the electromagnet. You can measure this magnetic
field density using the Hall probe. Find out the direction of magnetic field using the
given bar magnet. Do not change the magnetic field and perform steps 3 to 6 with
this value only.
3. Insert the sample between the pole pieces of the electromagnet such that the
direction of magnetic field is perpendicular to the direction of current and the line
connecting the Hall voltage probes (Fig.5.1).
4. From the direction of current and magnetic field estimate the direction of
accumulation of majority carriers. Connect the one of the Hall voltage probes into
which charge carriers are expected to accumulate to the positive side of the milli-
voltmeter. Connect the other Hall voltage probe to the negative side of the milli-
voltmeter. Don’t change this voltmeter connection throughout the experiment.
5. Record the Hall voltage as a function of sample current. Collect four sets of readings:
V1(B,I), V2(B,-I), V3(-B,I) and V4(-B,-I) for each current; V1 is for positive (initial)
current and field, V2 is for reverse current, V3 is for reverse field, V4 is for reverse field
and current. Note that field direction can be changed by changing the direction of
current through the electromagnet.

Page 20 of 29
Suggested Observation Table:
Sample number:
Thickness d=0.5mm

Sample current V1(B, I) V2(B, -I) V3(-B, I) V4(-B, -I) Hall voltage
I (mA) (mV) (mV) (mV) (mV) VH(mV)

1. The Hall voltage VH is obtained by,

[ ( , )− ( ,− )− (− , ) + (− , − )]
=
4
Thus the stray voltage due to thermo-emf and misalignment of Hall voltage probe is
eliminated.
2. Calculate , determine charge carrier density and the type of majority charge
carrier.
3. Estimate maximum possible errors in the measurement of .

References:
1. C. Kittel, Introduction to Solid State Physics, John Wiley & Sons (1996).
2. D. J. Griffiths, Introduction to Electrodynamics, Prentice-Hall (1999).

Page 21 of 29
 Experiment: 6

Determination of speed of light in glass by dispersion of light through a

glass prism

Theory: Light travels with the speed c (2.998 × 10 8m/s) in vacuum. In a material medium its
speed (v) is less. As a result, light waves undergo refraction at the interface of two media. In
this experiment, we take the material of the medium in the form of a glass prism. A parallel
stream of waves travelling from a medium 1 (here air) is incident on the interface of air and
glass (of the prism), at the angle incidence θ1. The angle of refraction is θ2 Snell’s law
connects the two by the relation,

sin = sin (1)

where n 1 and n 2 are the refractive indices of the two media 1 and 2 respectively. Since the
medium 1 here is air (n 1≅ 1.000), the speed of light in the second medium is given by
sin
= (2)
sin

We know that for a certain direction of incidence, the ray travels parallel to the base of the
prism and the angular displacement of the final ray that emerges from the second interface of
the prism has the lowest possible value. For this minimum angular deviation, δm, and the
corresponding incidence angle θ1, the geometry of symmetric propagation inside the medium
leads to the equation for ν
sin
= [ ]
(3)
sin

where α is the angle of the prism. Thus, from a measurement of the angle of the prism and
the value of the minimum angular displacement δm, the speed of light in the material can be
determined.

Procedure:
1. A spectrometer is used to measure the necessary angles. The spectrometer consists of
three units: (a) collimator, (b) telescope, and (c) prism table
2. The prism table, its base and the telescope can be moved independently around their
common vertical axis. A circular angular scale mounted with the telescope enables
one to read angular displacements with the help of two verniers mounted on the prism
table and located diametrically opposite to each other.
3. In this experiment, we need to produce a parallel beam of rays to be incident on the
prism. This is done with the help of the collimator. The collimator has an adjustable
rectangular slit at one end and a convex lens at the other end. When the illuminated
slit is located at the focus of the lens (Fig. 6.1), a parallel beam of ray emerges from

Page 22 of 29
 the collimator. We can test this point with the help of the telescope adjusted to receive
the parallel rays. We first prepare the telescope towards this purpose as follows:

Fig. 6.1

4. Setting the eyepiece: Focus the eyepiece of the telescope on its cross-wires (for
viewing the cross wires against a white background) such that a distinct image of the
cross-wires is seen by you. Henceforth do not disturb the eyepiece.
5. Setting the telescope: Focus the telescope onto a distant (infinity!) object. Test for
the absence of a parallax between the image of the distant object and the vertical
crosswire. Parallax effect (i.e. separation of two things when you move your head
across horizontally) exits, if the cross-wire and the image of the distant object are not
at the same distance from your eyes. Now the telescope is adjusted for receiving
parallel rays. Henceforth do not disturb the telescope focusing adjustment.
6. Setting the collimator: Use the telescope for viewing the illuminated slit through the
collimator and adjust the collimator (changing the separation between its lens and slit)
till the image of the slit is brought to the plane of cross-wires as judged by the absence
of parallax between the image of the slit and cross-wires.
7. Optical leveling of the prism table: Check whether the prism table is horizontally
leveled (use a spirit level).
8. Finding the angle of minimum deviation (δm): Unlock the prism table for the
measurement of the angle of minimum deviation. Locate the image of the slit after
refraction through the prism as shown in Fig.6.2. Keeping the image always in the
field of view, rotate the prism table till the position where the deviation of the image
of the slit is smallest. At this position, the image will go backward, even when you
keep rotating the prism table in the same direction. Lock both the telescope and
the prism table and to use the fine adjustment screw for finer settings. Note the
angular position of the prism. In this position the prism is set for minimum deviation.
Without disturbing the prism table, remove the prism. Unlock the telescope (not the
prism table) and turn the telescope towards the direct rays from the collimator. Note
the reading of this position. The angle of the minimum angular deviation, viz, δm is the
difference between the readings for these two settings.

Page 23 of 29
 Telescope
Direct position

Collimator Prism

Prism table
Telescope
Minimum deviation
position

Fig.6.2 Minimum deviation geometry

Observation Tables:
Spectrometer No: ____, Angle of the prism = 60°.
LC=Least count of main scale, VC (Vernier constant) =1 main scale division-1 vernier scale
division. If m VSD=n MSD, VC=(1-n/m)LC.

Angle of minimum deviation:

Vernier A Vernier B
Mini. deviation Direct position δm Mini. deviation Direct position δm
position (units) (units) position (units) (units)
(units) (units)
M V TR M V TR | − | M V TR M V TR | − |
S S ( ) S S ( ) S S ( ) S S ( )
R C R C R C R C
D
L
F

D
R
T

MSR – Main Scale Reading; VSC – Vernier scale coincident; LC-Least Count;
TR – Total Reading = MSR + VSC * VC.
DLF: Deviation to the left, DRT: Deviation to the right.
The angle should be taken in degree, minute and seconds.

1. Knowing and , calculate .

2. Estimate error in .

References:
1. F. A. Jenkins and H. E. White, Fundamentals of Optics, McGraw-Hill (1981).
2. E. Hecht, Optics, Pearson Education (2002).

Page 24 of 29
 Experiment : 7

Determination slit width by Fraunhofer diffraction through a single slit

Theory: Fraunhofer diffraction pattern (far field) is obtained when the source of light and the
observation screen on which diffraction pattern observed are far away (effectively at infinite
distance) from the aperture. The diffraction pattern for a single slit S is shown in Fig. 7.1. The
variation of the intensity I at the observation plane P is given by

= (1)

where I0 is the intensity of the incident light and 2βm is the phase difference between the
waves coming from edges of the slit given by
1
= (2)
2
where d is the width of the slit and k = 2π / λ, is the magnitude of the wave vector. The
minima of the fringes, according to eqn.(7.1) are located at
= , = ±1, ±2. ±3 … (3)

Hence,
1 2π mλ
d sin θ = mπ , or, sin θ =
2 λ d
For small angle, sin ≈ = ∆ ⁄ where ∆ = | − |, is the position of the
th
m minima and is the position of the principal maximum, and is the distance between
the slit and the photodiode. Therefore,
∆ mλ
= =
d

Screen 3 x
Slit

Fig.7.1 2

Source d 0

-1 ∆

-2

D -3

Page 25 of 29
Experimental Setup:
The experimental set up consists of a coherent source (laser), a slit and a photodiode (with a
slit on to it for better resolution) as shown in Fig. 7.2. All these components are mounted on
an optical bench along with a micrometer stage for each of them for alignment and
measurement. Intensity will be measured by measuring the photo voltage developed across
the photodiode.
Laser DMM

Slit Photodiode
Fig. 7.2

Procedure:
1. Align the laser and the slit to get a clear diffraction pattern. You can observe the
diffraction pattern by placing a white screen at certain distance from the slit, Fig.7.2.
2. Align the photodiode so that diffraction pattern falls on to it (ensure that you should
be able to record the full diffraction pattern up to few orders on both side of principal
maxima by moving micrometers of photodiode only.)
3. Record the intensity (photovoltage) as a function of x (Fig. 7.1) by moving the
photodiode along the line perpendicular to the laser beam in a convenient step.

Observation Tables:
Distance between the slit and the screen D=
Wavelength of the laser beam = 650nm.

Sl. Micrometer reading Photovoltage (units)

(units)

1. Plot the photovoltage as a function of x.

2. Note down the location of the minima’s (m) from your graph (at least three), calculate
the corresponding diffraction angle θm for various minima’s.
Sl. Position of minima from principal m θm d
maxima (units)

3. Find the slit width = ⁄ .

4. Estimate the maximum possible error in the measurement of d.

References:
1. A. Ghatak, Optics, Tata McGraw-Hill (2005).
2. F. A. Jenkins and H. E. White, Fundamentals of Optics, McGraw-Hill (1981).
3. E. Hecht, Optics, Pearson Education (2002).

Page 26 of 29
 Experiment: 8

Determination of radius of curvature of a plano convex lens using the

method of Newton’s ring

Theory: Interference effects are observed in a region of space where two or more coherent
waves are superimposed. Depending on the phase difference, the effect of superposition is to
produce varying intensities - varying from a maximum of 2A to a minimum of zero where A
is the amplitude of the waves. For the interference effect to be observed, the two waves
should be coherent. One way of realizing two coherent waves is to derive them from a single
wave front. In this experiment, a single wave front is split into two portions by amplitude
division.

Fig.8.1(a) shows the Newton’s ring assembly with a plano convex lens (L) placed over a
plane glass plate (G). The system is illuminated from above by light from a sodium vapour
lamp. Interference fringes are formed due to the superimposition of light reflected by the
upper and lower boundaries of the air gap formed between the lower face of the lens L and
the glass plate G. The thickness of the air gap is zero at the point of contact and increases as
we go radially outward from the centre. Loci of constant air gap thickness d will be
concentric circles around the point of contact. A fringe of minimum intensity is obtained if
the separation (air gap) satisfies the relation,
2 cos =2
2
where n is the refractive index of the medium (air in this case), λ is the wavelength of the
light used, is the angle of refraction at the glass to air interface. For normal incidence
= 0 and 2d = mλ.

Page 27 of 29
 Fig.2

The centre of the ring corresponds to d = 0, and this condition is satisfied with m = 0. At a
small distance away from the centre, where the air thickness d = λ/2, we have the first dark
ring. When d = mλ/2, we obtain the mth dark ring. Midway between successive dark rings,
we have rings of maximum intensity corresponding to = (2 + 1) .

We can relate the separation d to the distance ρ (radius of the ring) from the centre (Fig.1b).
If R is radius of curvature of the convex surface of the lens L, then = − ( − ) . For
small d, we may write ≈ . This gives the radius of the mth dark ring as
=
and for right rings,
= (2 + 1)
2

Procedure:
1. As the Plano-convex lens (L) is placed over a plane glass plate (G) as shown in Fig.
1a and a glass plate is mounted above the centre of the lens at about 45° to the
horizontal, a number of alternate bright and dark concentric rings appear and can be
viewed through the microscope. The microscope must be focused so that there is no
parallax between the cross wires and the image of the rings. The cross wires can be
rotated to make one of the cross wires to pass through the central spot of the ring
system and the other tangential to one of the rings. Move the microscope along the
horizontal scale till the tangential cross wire coincides with different successive rings.
2. Measure Dm=2ρ, the diameter of a Newton’s ring by placing the cross wire tangential
to a particular ring at the two extreme positions and noting the main and vernier scale
readings. Find ρ for many rings. Note that the centre ring is the 0th order fringe. As
one moves radially outward from the centre, higher order interference fringes (rings)
are encountered.

Page 28 of 29
Observational table:

Vernier constant of the main scale: VC=

Wavelength of the light used = 589.3 .
Take data either from left to right or from right to left. Consider at least 10 dark rings.

Table-1: Measurement of the diameter of the ring

Ring Microscope readings Diameter Dm2

No (m) Left (x1) Right (x2) Dm(2ρm)
Main Vernier Total Main Vernier Total =x2-x1
Scale Scale
10

1. Plot Dm2 versus m.

2. Estimate = by least squares fitting to data points.
3. Calculate error in R.

References:
1. A. Ghatak, Optics, Tata McGraw-Hill (2005).
2. F. A. Jenkins and H. E. White, Fundamentals of Optics, McGraw-Hill (1981).
3. E. Hecht, Optics, Pearson Education (2002).

Page 29 of 29