Why does polycarbonate have a higher refractive index than crown glass?

Subject: Why does polycarbonate have a higher refractive index than crown glass?

Date: Tue Dec 12 12:05:55 2006
Posted by josh
Grade level: 10-12 School: No school entered.
City: No city entered. State/Province: No state entered. Country: No country entered.
Area of science: Physics
ID: 1165950355.Ph

Message:


Crown glass has a density which is almost double that of the plastic polycarbonate. Yet every source that i 
have checked has told me that the refractive index of the glass is 1.52, and 1.59 for the plastic. I would 
have expected there to be a large difference in refractive index due to the large difference in density. Does 
refractive index depend upon other factors?

Re: Why does polycarbonate have a higher refractive index than crown glass?

Current Queue | Current Queue for Physics | Physics archives

Try the links in the MadSci Library for more information on Physics.