Optical constants

Refractive index of C₅H₁₂ (Pentane)

Kerl and Varchmin 1995: n-Pentane; 293 K; n 0.326–0.644 µm

Data: formula 5
Range: 0.326–0.644 µm
Temperature: 293 K
Licence: CC0-1.0

Axis Log x Log y

Click the plot to set the calculator wavelength.

At one wavelength

Refractive index n: 1.35852
Extinction coefficient k: 0

Permittivity ε₁: 1.84557
Permittivity ε₂: 0

Absorption coefficient α: 0 cm⁻¹
Penetration depth δ = λ/(2πk): — nm

Abbe number V_d: —
Chromatic dispersion dn/dλ: -0.0307406 µm⁻¹

Group index n_g: 1.37658
Group velocity dispersion: 62.7457 fs²/mm

Dispersion parameter D: -342.311 ps/(nm·km)
Photon energy: 2.11001 eV

ε = (n + ik)², α = 4πk/λ, n_g = n − λ dn/dλ, GVD = λ³/(2πc²) d²n/dλ², D = −(λ/c) d²n/dλ². Group-velocity dispersion is given for formula data only.

Use it in Lightsmith

Load this data in Python, simulate in one more line

pip install lightsmith

import lightsmith as ls

# C5H12 (Pentane): Kerl and Varchmin 1995: n-Pentane; 293 K; n 0.326–0.644 µm
c5h12 = ls.fetch_refractiveindex("organic", "pentane", "Kerl-293K", ref="c5c2f188e848453def5970e347399d653df2ffc2")
print(c5h12.range_nm)  # (326, 644) nm
eps = c5h12.eps([633])  # complex permittivity

Downloads the original record once (pinned to the imported snapshot) and caches it.

import json, urllib.request
import lightsmith as ls

url = "https://materials.lightsmith.dev/v1/datasets/ds_bb19b7e9f6c9/lightsmith"
c5h12 = ls.Tabulated.model_validate(json.load(urllib.request.urlopen(url)))
print(c5h12.source)  # citation and provenance travel with the data

Any dataset here, as the library's Tabulated material (pentane/kerl-varchmin-1995-293k).

# ... load c5h12 as above, then:
sim = ls.Simulation(
    particles=[ls.Particle(shape=ls.Sphere(radius_nm=50), material=c5h12)],
    medium_index=1.0,
    wavelengths=ls.WavelengthRange(start_nm=400, stop_nm=644, num=81),
)
res = ls.solve(sim)  # exact Mie for a sphere
print(res.q_ext)     # extinction efficiency at each wavelength

Same spec runs with DDA, FDTD, BEM or T-matrix: ls.compare(sim, ["mie", "dda"]).

Materials guide Open a sphere of it in Studio Quick start Ask the community

Lightsmith is open source (MIT): Mie, T-matrix, BEM, DDA, FDTD, RCWA, TMM, mode solvers and inverse design behind one spec, on CPU or GPU. GitHub.

Dispersion formula

Cauchy (formula 5), λ in µm

n = 1.35254253 - 0.00359105 λ^{- 1.0} + 0.00417342 λ^{- 2.0}

Valid from 0.326 to 0.644 µm.

Coefficients as stored

C_i	Value
C1	1.35254253
C2	-0.00359105
C3	-1.0
C4	0.00417342
C5	-2.0

Comments and conditions

n-Pentane; 293 K (20 °C). See the original publication for the expression for n(λ,T).

Conditions

temperature: 293 K

References

K. Kerl and H. Varchmin. Refractive index dispersion (RID) of some liquids in the UV/VIS between 20°C and 60°C. J. Mol. Struct. 349, 257-260 (1995)

doi:10.1016/0022-2860(95)08758-n Refractive index dispersion (RID) of some liquids in the UV/VIS between 20°C and 60°C, Journal of Molecular Structure (1995)

Cite

K. Kerl and H. Varchmin. Refractive index dispersion (RID) of some liquids in the UV/VIS between 20°C and 60°C. Journal of Molecular Structure, 349, 257-260 (1995), doi:10.1016/0022-2860(95)08758-n; Data from the refractiveindex.info database (M. N. Polyanskiy, Sci. Data 11, 94 (2024), doi:10.1038/s41597-023-02898-2)

Data

Computed on 400 wavelengths, the same grid as the API and the library

CSV comma separated TXT tab separated YAML n, k Full database record original YAML All quantities CSV JSON metadata

C5H12 (Pentane), Kerl and Varchmin 1995: n-Pentane; 293 K; n 0.326–0.644 µm: n and k versus wavelength
λ (µm)	n
0.326	1.380797
0.326557	1.380682
0.327114	1.380567
0.327673	1.380453
0.328233	1.380339
0.328793	1.380226
0.329355	1.380113
0.329917	1.380001
0.33048	1.379888
0.331045	1.379777
0.33161	1.379666
0.332176	1.379555
0.332744	1.379444
0.333312	1.379334
0.333881	1.379225
0.334451	1.379115
0.335022	1.379007
0.335595	1.378898
0.336168	1.37879
0.336742	1.378683
0.337317	1.378575
0.337893	1.378469
0.33847	1.378362
0.339048	1.378256
0.339627	1.378151
0.340207	1.378045
0.340788	1.377941
0.34137	1.377836
0.341953	1.377732
0.342537	1.377628
0.343122	1.377525
0.343708	1.377422
0.344295	1.37732
0.344883	1.377217
0.345472	1.377116
0.346062	1.377014
0.346653	1.376913
0.347245	1.376813
0.347838	1.376712
0.348432	1.376612
0.349027	1.376513
0.349623	1.376414
0.35022	1.376315
0.350818	1.376216
0.351417	1.376118
0.352017	1.376021
0.352618	1.375923
0.35322	1.375826
0.353824	1.37573
0.354428	1.375633
0.355033	1.375537
0.355639	1.375442
0.356247	1.375347
0.356855	1.375252
0.357464	1.375157
0.358075	1.375063
0.358686	1.374969
0.359299	1.374876
0.359913	1.374783
0.360527	1.37469
0.361143	1.374598
0.36176	1.374506
0.362377	1.374414
0.362996	1.374323
0.363616	1.374232
0.364237	1.374141
0.364859	1.374051
0.365482	1.373961
0.366106	1.373871
0.366731	1.373781
0.367358	1.373692
0.367985	1.373604
0.368614	1.373515
0.369243	1.373427
0.369874	1.37334
0.370505	1.373252
0.371138	1.373165
0.371772	1.373079
0.372407	1.372992
0.373043	1.372906
0.37368	1.37282
0.374318	1.372735
0.374957	1.37265
0.375597	1.372565
0.376239	1.37248
0.376881	1.372396
0.377525	1.372312
0.37817	1.372229
0.378815	1.372146
0.379462	1.372063
0.38011	1.37198
0.380759	1.371898
0.38141	1.371816
0.382061	1.371734
0.382714	1.371653
0.383367	1.371572
0.384022	1.371491
0.384678	1.371411
0.385334	1.37133
0.385993	1.37125
0.386652	1.371171
0.387312	1.371092
0.387973	1.371013
0.388636	1.370934
0.3893	1.370856
0.389964	1.370778
0.39063	1.3707
0.391298	1.370622
0.391966	1.370545
0.392635	1.370468
0.393306	1.370391
0.393977	1.370315
0.39465	1.370239
0.395324	1.370163
0.395999	1.370088
0.396675	1.370013
0.397353	1.369938
0.398031	1.369863
0.398711	1.369789
0.399392	1.369715
0.400074	1.369641
0.400757	1.369567
0.401442	1.369494
0.402127	1.369421
0.402814	1.369348
0.403502	1.369276
0.404191	1.369204
0.404881	1.369132
0.405573	1.36906
0.406265	1.368989
0.406959	1.368918
0.407654	1.368847
0.40835	1.368777
0.409047	1.368706
0.409746	1.368636
0.410446	1.368566
0.411147	1.368497
0.411849	1.368428
0.412552	1.368359
0.413257	1.36829
0.413962	1.368222
0.414669	1.368154
0.415377	1.368086
0.416087	1.368018
0.416797	1.367951
0.417509	1.367883
0.418222	1.367816
0.418936	1.36775
0.419652	1.367683
0.420368	1.367617
0.421086	1.367551
0.421805	1.367486
0.422526	1.36742
0.423247	1.367355
0.42397	1.36729
0.424694	1.367226
0.425419	1.367161
0.426146	1.367097
0.426874	1.367033
0.427603	1.366969
0.428333	1.366906
0.429064	1.366843
0.429797	1.36678
0.430531	1.366717
0.431266	1.366655
0.432003	1.366592
0.43274	1.36653
0.433479	1.366469
0.43422	1.366407
0.434961	1.366346
0.435704	1.366285
0.436448	1.366224
0.437193	1.366163
0.43794	1.366103
0.438688	1.366043
0.439437	1.365983
0.440187	1.365923
0.440939	1.365864
0.441692	1.365804
0.442446	1.365745
0.443202	1.365687
0.443959	1.365628
0.444717	1.36557
0.445477	1.365512
0.446237	1.365454
0.446999	1.365396
0.447763	1.365338
0.448527	1.365281
0.449293	1.365224
0.450061	1.365167
0.450829	1.365111
0.451599	1.365054
0.45237	1.364998
0.453143	1.364942
0.453917	1.364887
0.454692	1.364831
0.455468	1.364776
0.456246	1.364721
0.457025	1.364666
0.457806	1.364611
0.458588	1.364557
0.459371	1.364502
0.460155	1.364448
0.460941	1.364395
0.461728	1.364341
0.462517	1.364287
0.463306	1.364234
0.464098	1.364181
0.46489	1.364128
0.465684	1.364076
0.466479	1.364023
0.467276	1.363971
0.468074	1.363919
0.468873	1.363867
0.469674	1.363816
0.470476	1.363764
0.47128	1.363713
0.472084	1.363662
0.472891	1.363611
0.473698	1.363561
0.474507	1.36351
0.475317	1.36346
0.476129	1.36341
0.476942	1.36336
0.477757	1.36331
0.478573	1.363261
0.47939	1.363212
0.480209	1.363162
0.481029	1.363114
0.48185	1.363065
0.482673	1.363016
0.483497	1.362968
0.484323	1.36292
0.48515	1.362872
0.485978	1.362824
0.486808	1.362776
0.48764	1.362729
0.488472	1.362682
0.489307	1.362635
0.490142	1.362588
0.490979	1.362541
0.491818	1.362495
0.492658	1.362448
0.493499	1.362402
0.494342	1.362356
0.495186	1.36231
0.496032	1.362265
0.496879	1.362219
0.497727	1.362174
0.498577	1.362129
0.499429	1.362084
0.500281	1.362039
0.501136	1.361995
0.501992	1.36195
0.502849	1.361906
0.503708	1.361862
0.504568	1.361818
0.505429	1.361775
0.506293	1.361731
0.507157	1.361688
0.508023	1.361644
0.508891	1.361601
0.50976	1.361559
0.51063	1.361516
0.511502	1.361473
0.512376	1.361431
0.513251	1.361389
0.514127	1.361347
0.515005	1.361305
0.515885	1.361263
0.516766	1.361221
0.517648	1.36118
0.518532	1.361139
0.519418	1.361098
0.520305	1.361057
0.521193	1.361016
0.522084	1.360976
0.522975	1.360935
0.523868	1.360895
0.524763	1.360855
0.525659	1.360815
0.526557	1.360775
0.527456	1.360735
0.528357	1.360696
0.529259	1.360656
0.530163	1.360617
0.531068	1.360578
0.531975	1.360539
0.532884	1.360501
0.533794	1.360462
0.534705	1.360424
0.535618	1.360385
0.536533	1.360347
0.537449	1.360309
0.538367	1.360271
0.539286	1.360234
0.540207	1.360196
0.54113	1.360159
0.542054	1.360122
0.54298	1.360084
0.543907	1.360047
0.544836	1.360011
0.545766	1.359974
0.546698	1.359937
0.547632	1.359901
0.548567	1.359865
0.549504	1.359829
0.550442	1.359793
0.551382	1.359757
0.552324	1.359721
0.553267	1.359686
0.554212	1.35965
0.555158	1.359615
0.556106	1.35958
0.557056	1.359545
0.558007	1.35951
0.55896	1.359476
0.559915	1.359441
0.560871	1.359407
0.561829	1.359372
0.562788	1.359338
0.563749	1.359304
0.564712	1.35927
0.565676	1.359237
0.566642	1.359203
0.56761	1.35917
0.568579	1.359136
0.56955	1.359103
0.570523	1.35907
0.571497	1.359037
0.572473	1.359004
0.573451	1.358971
0.57443	1.358939
0.575411	1.358906
0.576394	1.358874
0.577378	1.358842
0.578364	1.35881
0.579352	1.358778
0.580341	1.358746
0.581332	1.358715
0.582325	1.358683
0.58332	1.358652
0.584316	1.35862
0.585314	1.358589
0.586313	1.358558
0.587314	1.358527
0.588317	1.358496
0.589322	1.358466
0.590328	1.358435
0.591337	1.358405
0.592346	1.358374
0.593358	1.358344
0.594371	1.358314
0.595386	1.358284
0.596403	1.358254
0.597421	1.358225
0.598442	1.358195
0.599464	1.358166
0.600487	1.358136
0.601513	1.358107
0.60254	1.358078
0.603569	1.358049
0.6046	1.35802
0.605632	1.357991
0.606667	1.357963
0.607703	1.357934
0.60874	1.357906
0.60978	1.357877
0.610821	1.357849
0.611864	1.357821
0.612909	1.357793
0.613956	1.357765
0.615004	1.357738
0.616055	1.35771
0.617107	1.357682
0.618161	1.357655
0.619216	1.357628
0.620274	1.3576
0.621333	1.357573
0.622394	1.357546
0.623457	1.35752
0.624522	1.357493
0.625588	1.357466
0.626656	1.35744
0.627727	1.357413
0.628799	1.357387
0.629872	1.357361
0.630948	1.357334
0.632026	1.357308
0.633105	1.357283
0.634186	1.357257
0.635269	1.357231
0.636354	1.357205
0.637441	1.35718
0.638529	1.357155
0.63962	1.357129
0.640712	1.357104
0.641806	1.357079
0.642902	1.357054
0.644	1.357029

Optical transmission calculator

Free-standing sample in vacuum, normal incidence

Transmittance T: —
Reflectance R: —

Fresnel reflection calculator

R_p: —
R_s: —
R = (R_p+R_s)/2: —
Phase φ_p: —
Phase φ_s: —
Brewster angle θ_B: —
Critical angle θ_C: —

C₅H₁₂ (Pentane): all datasets

About C5H12 (Pentane)

Pentane (C₅H₁₂) is a straight-chain alkane with five carbon atoms. It is a volatile and flammable liquid at room temperature and is found in the gasoline fraction during the refining of crude oil. Being highly flammable, it's used as a component in some fuel mixtures and as a solvent in laboratories. Additionally, pentane is utilized in the production of foam and polystyrene, serving as a blowing agent that helps form bubbles within the material. When considering its optical properties, it's relatively transparent in the visible range. Proper precautions should be taken when working with pentane due to its highly flammable nature and potential to form explosive mixtures in air.

More about C5H12 (Pentane) →

Provenance

Version: 1 (snapshot c5c2f18)
Source page: refractiveindex.info
Original file: database/data/organic/C5H12 - pentane/nk/Kerl-293K.yml
ID: ds_bb19b7e9f6c9
API: /v1/datasets/ds_bb19b7e9f6c9

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