Cauchy's dispersion equation reconsidered: Dispersion in silicate glasses

• Published in: Radiation effects and defects in solids Vol. 157; no. 6-12; pp. 823 - 828
• Main Authors: Smith, D. Y., Inokuti, Mitio, Karstens, W.
• Format: Journal Article Conference Proceeding
• Language: English
• Published: Reading Taylor & Francis Group 01.01.2002; Taylor and Francis
• Subjects: Abbé Number; CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties; Disordered solids; Dispersion; Dispersion Formulas; DISPERSION RELATIONS; Exact sciences and technology; Fundamental areas of phenomenology (including applications); GLASS; Glasses, quartz; Infrared and raman spectra and scattering; Optical Glass; Optical materials; Optical Properties; Optical properties and condensed-matter spectroscopy and other interactions of matter with particles and radiation; Optics; Physics; REFRACTIVE INDEX; SILICATES; SPECTRA; Visible and ultraviolet spectra; Dispersion relations; Refractive index; Ultraviolet spectra; Empirical relation; Silicates; Infrared spectra; Experimental study; Cauchy distribution; Dispersion; Abbé number; Optical dispersion; Optical properties; Absorption spectra; Dispersion formulas; Transparent material; Optical glass
• ISSN: 1042-0150; 1029-4953
• DOI: 10.1080/10420150215781

We formulate a novel method of characterizing optically transparent substances using dispersion theory. The refractive index is given by a generalized Cauchy dispersion equation with coefficients that are moments of the uv and ir absorptions. Mean dispersion, Abbé number, and partial dispersion are combinations of these moments. The empirical relation between index and dispersion for families of glasses appears as a consequence of Beer's law applied to the uv spectra.