Investigating the Faraday Effect through comparative measurement of the Verdet constants of water and sugar solutions
Abstract
In this student lab experiment, the Faraday effect was investigated and the concept was used in determining the Verdet constant V of plain tap water and of sugar solutions. The effect of sugar solute concentration on the V of sugar solutions was further examined and it was found that V is directly proportional to the number of active sugar molecules in a solution. The empirical Verdet constant of water was determined to be (2.4 ± 0.2) x 102 °/Tm with 10% systematic error. Sugar solutions have consistently greater Verdet constants than water.