Substance
n
Substance
n
Air
Water
1.00029
1.33
Glass
Diamond
1.50
2.42
Note. Since the refractive indices are known to depend on the nature
of the substance and the wavelength of light, the values of n listed here
should be regarded as conditional.
20. Refractive Indices
Wavelength X, nm
Colour
Iceland spar
Quartz
ne
no
ne
no
687
red
1.484
1.653
1.550
1.541
656
orange
1.485
1.655
1.551
1.542
589
yellow
1.486
1.658
1.553
1.544
527
green
1.489
1.664
1.556
1.547
486
blue
1.491
1.668
1.559
1.550
431
indigo
1.495
1.676
1.564
1.554
400
violet
1.498
1.683
1.568
1.558
21. Rotation of the Plane of Polarization
Natural rotation in quartz (the thickness of the plate is 1 mm)
X, nm
4), deg
X, nm
(P. deg
X, nm
q, deg
199.0
295.65
344.1
70.59
589.5
21.72
217.4
226.91
372.6
58.89
656.3
17.32
219.4
220.7
404.7
48.93
670.8
16.54
257.1
143.3
435.9
41.54
1040
6.69
274.7
121.1
491.6
31.98
1450
3.41
328.6
78.58
508.6
29.72
1770
2.28
Magnetic Rotation (X=589 nm). The Verdet Constant V:
Liquid
V, ang. uanA
Liquid
V, ang. inin/A
Benzene
Water
2.59
0.016
Carbon disulphide
Ethyl alcohol
0.053
1.072
378