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Abbe number ( V-number)

Description

Abbe number , is a measure of the material’s dispersion in relation to the refractive index, with high values of V indicating low dispersion (low chromatic aberration). Abbe numbers are used to classify glass and other optically transparent materials. Typical values of V range from around 20 for very dense flint glass, around 30 for polycarbonate plastics, and up to 65 for very light crown glass, and up to 85 for fluor-crown glass.

Related formulas

Variables

VdAbbe number ( V-number) (dimensionless)
nDRefractive index at the wavelengths of the Fraunhofer D spectral line (dimensionless)
nFRefractive index at the wavelengths of the Fraunhofer F spectral line (dimensionless)
nCRefractive index at the wavelengths of the Fraunhofer C spectral line (dimensionless)