The refractive index of a material can be determined indirectly from measurements of the minimum deviation angle of a ray through the material (when the material is made into a prism).
α is the corner angle of the prism.
n is the refractive index of the material.
θi1 is the angle of incidence of the ray (see Hecht Optics p188).
δ is the deviation angle.
δm is the minimum deviation angle.
The mimimum deviation angle occurs when the internal reflections form a (low energy?) symmetrical arrangement.
This Wolfram Language program was made to help me and my lab partner understand this phenomenon.
When the inner ray is parallel with the base of the prism the system undergoes a unique state of symmetry in which the internal reflections merge with the transmitted ray.
please click on the video below
