List of refractive indices

Many materials have a well-characterized refractive index, but these indices depend strongly upon the frequency of light. Standard refractive index measurements are taken at the "yellow doublet" sodium D line, with a wavelength of 589 nanometers.

There are also weaker dependencies on temperature, pressure/stress, etc., as well on precise material compositions (presence of dopants, etc.); for many materials and typical conditions, however, these variations are at the percent level or less. Thus, it is especially important to cite the source for an index measurement if precision is required.

In general, an index of refraction is a complex number with both a real and imaginary part, where the latter indicates the strength of absorption loss at a particular wavelength—thus, the imaginary part is sometimes called the extinction coefficient $k$. Such losses become particularly significant, for example, in metals at short (e.g. visible) wavelengths, and must be included in any description of the refractive index.

Refraction, critical angle and total internal reflection of light at the interface between two media.

List

Some representative refractive indices

Material	λ (nm)	n	Ref.
Vacuum		1 (by definition)
Air at STP		1.000277
Gases at 0 °C and 1 atm
Air	589.29	1.000293
Carbon dioxide	589.29	1.001
Helium	589.29	1.000036
Hydrogen	589.29	1.000132
Liquids at 20 °C
Arsenic trisulfide and sulfur in methylene iodide		1.9
Benzene	589.29	1.501
Carbon disulfide	589.29	1.628
Carbon tetrachloride	589.29	1.461
Ethanol (ethyl alcohol)	589.29	1.361
Silicone oil		1.336–1.582
Water	589.29	1.330
10% Glucose solution in water	589.29	1.3477
20% Glucose solution in water	589.29	1.3635
60% Glucose solution in water	589.29	1.4394
Solids at room temperature
Titanium dioxide (rutile phase)	589.29	2.614
Diamond	589.29	2.419
Silicon carbide (Moissanite)		2.65–2.69
Strontium titanate	589.29	2.41
Amber	589.29	1.55
Fused silica (a pure form of glass, also called fused quartz)	589.29	1.458
Sodium chloride	589.29	1.544
Other materials
Liquid helium		1.025
Water ice		1.31
Cornea (human)		1.373/1.380/1.401
Lens (human)		1.386–1.406
Acetone		1.36
Ethanol		1.36
Glycerol		1.4729
Bromine		1.661
TFE/PDD (Teflon AF)		1.315
Polytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon)		1.35–1.38
Cytop		1.34
Sylgard 184 (polydimethylsiloxane)		1.4118
Polylactic acid		1.46
Acrylic glass		1.490–1.492
Polycarbonate		1.60
Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)		1.4893–1.4899
PETg		1.57
Polyethylene terephthalate (PET)		1.5750
Kerosene		1.39
Crown glass (pure)		1.50–1.54
Flint glass (pure)		1.60–1.62
Crown glass (impure)		1.485–1.755
Flint glass (impure)		1.523–1.925
Pyrex (a borosilicate glass)		1.470
Cryolite		1.338
Halite (rock salt)		1.516
Sapphire		1.762–1.778
Sugar solution, 25%		1.3723
Sugar solution, 50%		1.4200
Sugar solution, 75%		1.4774
Cubic zirconia		2.15–2.18
Potassium niobate (KNbO3)		2.28
Cinnabar (mercury sulfide)		3.02
Gallium(III) phosphide		3.5
Gallium(III) arsenide		3.927
Zinc oxide	390	2.4
Germanium	3000 - 16000	4.05–4.01
Silicon	1200 - 8500	3.48–3.42

See also

• Sellmeier equation
• Corrective lens#Ophthalmic material property tables
• Optical properties of water and ice

External links

• International Association for the Properties of Water and Steam
• Ioffe institute, Russian Federation
• Crystran, United Kingdom
• Jena University, Germany
• Hyperphysics list of refractive indices
• Luxpop: Index of refraction values and photonics calculations
• Kaye and Laby Online Provided by the National Physical Laboratory, UK
• List of Refractive Indices of Solvents

• Meyrowitz, R, A compilation and classification of immersion media of high index of refraction, American Mineralogist 40: 398 (1955)