Refractive Index Of Acrylic Sheet

Poly methyl methacrylate pmma also known as acrylic acrylic glass or plexiglass as well as by the trade names crylux plexiglas acrylite astariglas lucite perclax and perspex among several others see below is a transparent thermoplastic often used in sheet form as a lightweight or shatter resistant alternative to glass the same material can be used as a casting resin or in inks.

Refractive index of acrylic sheet. Both acrylic acid ch 2 chco 2 h and methacrylic acid ch 2 c ch 3 co 2 h have been synthesized since the mid 19th century but the practical potential of materials related to these compounds became apparent only about 1901 when german chemist otto röhm published. This optics material is less expensive than acrylic. Pmma acrylic polymer has a refractive index of 1 49 and a density ranges between 1 17 1 20 g cm 3 which is half less than that of glass. Over the past few years i have been collecting ior index of refraction values i can find for use in 3d rendering applications.

Poly methyl methacrylate is produced by free radical polymerization of methyl methacrylate in mass when it is in sheet form or suspension polymerization. Acrylic any of a broad array of synthetic resins and fibres that are based on derivatives of acrylic and methacrylic acid. There are also weaker dependencies on temperature pressure stress etc as well on precise material compositions presence of dopants etc. Each material in the database has refractive index listed as a function of wavelength over a range typically required for thin film thickness measurement.

If the file is not available for download you can request our proprietary file by clicking request. Using snell s law it is possible to calculate the exact view angle through the acrylic. Standard refractive index measurements are taken at the yellow doublet sodium d line with a wavelength of 589 nanometers. Many materials have a well characterized refractive index but these indexes depend strongly upon the frequency of light.

The optical properties of plexiglas sheet make it ideal for edge lighting applications. The table below contains links to refractive index data for common materials. To make the most effective and efficient use of edge lighted acrylic shapes fabricators. Nas is a copolymer of 70 polystyrene and 30 acrylic having a refractive index 588nm of 1 564.

When refractive index surface reflectance and absorbance of the sheet are known the designer can create displays that appear to be self illuminated. For a typical sample of acrylic the refractive index and extinction coefficient at 632 8 nm are 1 48899 and 0. Many 3d applications these days allow you to input actual ior values in order to achieve a more accurate representation of surfaces during rendering of your 3d models. As stated before the refractive index of clear acrylic is 1 49 and water is 1 37.

When the viewer is looking straight through the acrylic there is no angle shift distortion seen.