Practice question
Question
A prism of angle \( 40^\circ \) and refractive index \( 1.5 \) produces what minimum deviation?
Explanation
**Lens combination** effective focal length calculation uses reciprocal sum, for f₁=10 cm, f₂=20 cm in contact, 1/F=1/10+1/20=3/20, F=6.67 cm, P=15 D, stronger converging than either alone, illustrating power addition. For a thin prism: D_m = (n - 1) A . n = 1.5 , A = 40° . D_m = (1.5 - 1) × 40 = 0.5 × 40 = 20° . Substituting values gives 20°, which matches expected image position and magnification from mirror/lens formula 1/f = 1/v - 1/u (lens) or 1/f = 1/v + 1/u (mirror), confirming sign conventions and refraction principles.
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