Post Lab Discoveries and thoughts

As I have spent time researching and completing this project, I have learned a great deal about Snell's law itself.  Certainly before I understood how to manipulate the equation and calculate index of refraction, but I had no idea what application this law may have. So many people today use Snell's law to make business more lucrative, people more inclined to be healthy, an communications between people much stronger. Personally, I don't think we've discovered every way we can apply Snell's Law. But I certainly do appreciate the opportunity to come to understand and use it more.

Materials

For this list, many of the materials can be interchanged and varied at the whim of your scientific mind(which is one of the coolest ways to do it.) But you will definitely need:

• A clear gelatin mold
• At least two protractors
• Some way to be sure you're shooting the beam correctly
• Math
• A working knowledge of Snell's law.
• A class II or III meteorologic neon laser (take extra precautions to avoid direct retina exposures with the lasers.)

The way I actually guided my laser was by crimping a metal cable to the cut 2X4 that the laser was resting on to the board that the gelatin would rest on. This made sure to always shoot at the same focal angle so that the refracted angle did not change.

The Experiment

When we were assigned to do our AP physics capstone projects, originally I thought that I would to do something with atomic theory or nuclear physics; however, I ended up doing a lab on the topic I DESPISE most in physics- optics. The lab is a relatively simple procedure that yields surprisingly complex results. Speaking to anyone outside the physics classroom was absolutely astounded. Not very many of them could imagine measuring the speed of light in gelatin (which is what this lab accomplishes) because they imagine me racing the photons with a circular stopwatch (which is impossible and unreasonable as there are thousands of light rays hitting the colors on the watch before I can even touch the buttons..) Using Snell's law, I can solve for the index of refraction of the gelatin (look at pictures for a detailed explanation of the math.) and then I know that the index of refraction is actually a ratio of the speed of light over the medium through which it is traveling.