Diffraction of light on an object

➕ 〓

Emanuele Ursino and Rhys Sansom

What is light diffraction and how does it work?
- Diffraction: is the slight bending of light as it passes around the edge of
an object or in an opening.

- Can vary based on the wavelength of the light waves or on the size of
the opening
- Process: Light waves approach an opening, they enter the small
opening and are bent by it so they can get through, once out they
scatter in different directions forming diffraction patterns

- Patterns are created by the spreading and interference between waves,

which in some instances cancel out and create dark spots, but in others
the waves will add to form bright spots

- Diffraction on a CD: light from laser approaches a Cd, makes contact

with the Cd and bounces of the tiny indentations in it called “pits”
which when grouped form a parallel pattern, light then bounces of the
Cd and diffracts, showing the approximately the same pattern as the
one on the Cd
Motivation and introduction of the experiment

- Why did we choose this experiment?

- We chose the experiment because we were both intrigued
by light waves the most and wanted to see the result of the
light diffraction phenomenon against a surface of any kind

- Why is this experiment worthy?

- It will allow us to verify the phenomenon of light diffraction
for ourselves and also enable us understand better how it
works and what kinds of things might be able to affect it

- Experiment intro:
- We decided the surface for the diffraction of the light
would be a Cd and then focused on finding and accurate
variable to create and experiment, and finally settled on the
distance from the Cd to the surface of a wall where the
diffraction patterns would show
 the Experiment: Research question

- Research question: How will the decrease in distance by a CD and a wall change the width
of the diffraction of light waves between peaks?

- We decided for the independent variable to be the decreasing distance between the Cd and
wall and see how it would affect the distance between the light peaks instead of changing
the wavelength of the laser and have that be the independent variable

- We decided to measure everything in Cm

 the Experiment: Variables
- Independent variable: The distance between the Cd and the wall measured in the cm, with
the laser and Cd being at equal height
- instrument used to measure distance: ruler with sensitivity of 0.1cm
- Intervals: 100 cm, 80 cm, 60 cm, 40 cm, 20 cm

- Dependent variable: the distance between the central light wave peak and the two closest
peaks to it(both left and right)
- Instrument used to measure distance: ruler with sensitivity of 0.1cm

- Controlled Variables:
- Distance from laser to wall
- Type of laser(same wavelength)
- Height at which laser impacts the CD
- Height at which the laser is held
- Height at which the CD is held
- All materials(rulers, vices to hold the Cd and Laser into place etc.)
- Surface on which the laser is point against
- Light color of laser( same frequency)
 the Experiment: Our hypothesis
- Our original hypothesis for the outcome of the experiment was the following: “We think that
the shorter the distance between the CD and the wall, the less width in the diffraction/
less length between peaks there will be.”

- Reasoning: We think this because when passing through the Cd, the light waves will have
some interference, will be blocked in some ways and rebound from different angles, and
when emerging will have less time to properly spread out throughout the wall. Therefore the
overlapping of the peaks will be closer to the central spot.
the Experiment: Materials and safety Rules
Main safety rules concerning the
experiment:
- All materials used:
- Vices( x2) 1) Be extremely careful not to shine
- Rulers/meter sticks( x2) the laser pointer anywhere on
- Laser pointer( always your or someone else’s body, so
green) as to avoid unexpected or
- Cd uncomfortable results
- Sheet of paper(to record
data)
- Pen(to record data) 2) Be careful when handling the Cd
to not get cut on your hands or
anywhere else on your body
the Experiment: The Procedure
1) Taka the two vices and place them on the table
2) Take the laser pointer and put it in one of the vices until it is still and staring toward the wall
3) Take a CD and hold it to the other vice, at the same height
4) Take a meter stick and place it on the table, measuring the distance from the wall to 1m
5) Place the vice with the laser about 20cm away from the end(1m mark) of the meter stick
6) Place the vice with the Cd at the 1m mark of the meter stick
7) fire the laser into a point on the Cd
8) Look at the wall and measure the distance with the other ruler between the main peak and the next
light peak closest to it
9) Record the distance on your data table
10) Now move the vice with the CD to the 80 cm mark
11) Repeat the procedure from step 7 to 9
12) Move the vice with the CD to the 60 cm mark
13) Repeat the procedure from step 7 to 9
14) Move the vice with the CD to the 40 cm mark
15) Repeat the procedure from step 7 to 9
16) Move the vice with CD to the 20 cm mark
17) Repeat procedure from step 7 to 9
18) Repeat the whole procedure from step 6 to 17 for another 2 times
19) Once you have 3 trials for each length, record all of your data on your data sheet
 the Experiment: Raw data table

Distance between light peaks Distance between light peaks Distance between light peaks
distance cd-wall(cm) trial 1(cm) trial 2(cm) trial 3(cm)

100 36.3 36.7 37.2

80 30.7 29.8 30.1

60 23 22.9 23.2

40 16 15.8 16.3

20 9.1 9.2 9.4

5 measurements, 3 trials for each measurement

 the Experiment: processed data table and
formulas
Distance Distance Distance
distance between light between light between light uncertainty(+-0.1
cd-wall(cm) peaks trial 1(cm) peaks trial 2(cm) peaks trial 3(cm) average(cm) cm)

100 36.3 36.7 37.2 36.7 0.45

80 30.7 29.8 30.1 30.2 0.45

60 23 22.9 23.2 23.0 0.15

40 16 15.8 16.3 16.0 0.25

Formulas used in the experiment: 20 9.1 9.2 9.4 9.2 0.15

1) Average formula: average= (x1+x2+x3)/3

2) Uncertainty formula: uncertainty=

(xmax-xmin)/2

3) Angle of light diffraction equation : distance

between slits/d x (sin0)= n x wavelength/λ
 the Experiment: The Graph

Title: How does the distance between a CD and a surface affect the distance in
between the peaks of light waves when a laser is fired into the CD's concentrated
point?
X axis: Distance between the CD and the wall(cm)
Y axis: Distance between light wave peaks(cm)
 the Experiment: Data analysis

- Data results:
- We discovered that the closer the CD came to the wall, the more compact the light wave peaks seemed to be. Indeed,
the results showed that when going respectively from the distance of 1m, to 80cm to 60 to 40 and finally to 20, the
distance between the peaks decreased almost proportionally. This suggested that the closer the CD came to the surface
of the wall, the less time and also space was granted to the light waves to separate and go in different directions, hence
why they were closer together.
- Patterns and correlations:
- The data in our graph had a negative correlation, since every time the distance between the disk and the wall shortened,
the distance between the peaks decreased always. Overall, the data in both the table and graph showed a negative
gradient in them. Furthermore, the graph also had a pretty strong linear correlation, since the drop in distance from the
independent variable was always the same and the drop in distance between the dependent variable( peaks of light)
were also very similar to them. However, the data from the graph did not show a direct proportionality, since although
the graph is linear, it does not pass through the origin, therefore making it not directly proportional.
the Experiment: Data Analysis #2

- Data Variability: The data, both in its processed but also its raw form, had a very low variability and
proved to be very precise and close. The biggest difference between two trials in the experiment was only
0.9 cm apart, proving the efficiency but also the precision of the whole experiment.
- Errors: Random and Systematic
1) The power and battery of the laser
2) The smoothness and regularity of the wall surface
3) Minimum unit of measurement of the rulers
4) The single point at which we set the laser to reach the CD.
5) Which peak closest to the main one was measured

- Conclusion: In the beginning of our experiment, our hypothesis stated that the closer the Cd
was to the wall, the less distance there would be between peaks because of the more limited
time and space the light waves had to diffuse and for the diffraction to happen. Both the data
and the graph supported the hypothesis, since they both showed that whenever the distance
between the CD and the wall decreased( 100cm,80cm,60cm,40cm,20cm) so did the distance
between the peaks(36.7cm, 30.2cm,23.0,16.09.2).
 the Experiment: Evaluation of procedure
- Strenghts:
1) we were able to have a completely consistent position(height and length from the wall) of the laser and the vice
2) 3 trials per length
3) Marking the exact spot to put the vice against for each length from the wall to increase precision

- Weaknesses:
1) The reduced smooth and even section of the wall in which to perform the experiment(random error)
2) Quality of the Cd used(random error)
3) Alignment of the vices with one another(systematic error)

- Possible improvements:
1) Better and newer cd
2) More powerful or long-lasting laser
Sources

- http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/opt/mch/diff.rxml

- http://www.ipodphysics.com/prop-of-light-youngs-double-slit.php

- https://science.nasa.gov/ems/03_behaviors

- https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/350510main_Optics_Diffraction_of_Light.pdf