Gossner College, Ranchi

Department of Physics: Question Bank Prepared By: Braj Lal Bhakta, HOD.
B. Sc. Physics Hons. Sem-VI: CC13: Electromagnetic (EM) Theory:
All symbols used have their usual meanings.

01. Name of Topics: Maxwell Equations: Review of Maxwell’s equations.

Displacement Current. Vector and Scalar Potentials:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Define displacement current. Give an example involving displacement current.
b. Define EM scalar potential. Write its S. I. unit.
c. Define EM vector potential. Write its S. I. unit.
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Are all Maxwell’s equations in differential forms (i.e. Point Forms) independent?
If not, which of them are independent?
e. Discuss different types of electromagnetic (EM) media with their fundamental
features having different utilities.
f. Derive Maxwell’s equations for EM fields in integral forms (i.e. macroscopic forms)
and explain their physical significance with word statements.
g. Maxwell’s equations are linear. Why and how?
h. Find the conduction and displacement current densities in a material having
conductivity of 10-03 S / m and r = 02.50 if the electric field in the material is E =
05.00 X 10-06 sin (09.00 x 1009 t) V / m.
i. Explain EM vector potential A and scalar potential . What are the significance of
EM potentials?
Long Answer Type Questions:
j. Write down the Maxwell’s equations for an EM field. Show how they can be
written as a pair of inhomogeneous wave equations involving the scalar and vector
potentials.
k. Explain how Maxwell arrived at the concept of ‘displacement current’ through
equation of continuity. How does it compare with conduction current? Show how
propagation of a new type of wave called EM wave was predicted by Maxwell.
l. What are electric and magnetic potentials of EM fields? Deduce Laplace’s
equation. What are the advantages of Laplace’s equation over Maxwell’s field
equations?
m. Establish Maxwell’s equations for time-dependent EM fields in vacuum and in
the material media and explain the significance of these equations. What form of
these equations will presume if the medium is non-conducting?
02. Name of Topics: Gauge Transformations: Lorentz and Coulomb Gauge.
Boundary Conditions at Interface between Different Media:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Are Maxwell’s equations written in terms of scalar and vector potentials invariant
under gauge transformations?
b. How would you get a pair of equations from four Maxwell’s field equations?
c. What is the concept of non-uniqueness of EM potentials?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. What do you understand by Lorentz gauge and Coulomb’s gauge? Show that
coupled inhomogeneous Maxwell’s equations are uncoupled by a gauge
transformation.
e. What are gauge transformations? What are Coulomb’s and Lorentz Gauges? What
are their importance?
f. In free space H = 100 cos (t - 10x) az A/m. Find displacement current density, ‘Jd’.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. Show that under Coulomb’s gauge the EM scalar potential is exactly the
electrostatic potential while vector potential is described completely in terms of
transverse current.
h. Express Maxwell’s equations in terms of Scalar and vector potentials. Show that
these equations are invariant under Gauge transformations. Are these potentials
independent of each other and are they physically measurable?
03. Name of Topics: Wave Equations. Plane Waves in Dielectric Media. Poynting
vector and Poynting Theorem:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Define uniform plane EM waves. Write their basic and fundamental properties.
b. Power per unit area flowing with EM waves is represented by a vector known as
………………….. (Fill in the blank).
c. Define Poynting’s vector. Write the S. I. unit and dimensions of Poynting vector.
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Explain clearly the meaning of Poynting’s vector. Deduce Poynting’s theorem for
the flow of energy in an EM field. Express Poynting’s theorem in complex form.
e. Derive a relation between electric field intensity E and magnetic field intensity H
in a uniform plane EM wave.
f. Derive the wave equation from Maxwell’s equations for free space, charge free
region.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. Establish the law of conservation of energy for the EM field. Explaining the
meaning of various terms involved in it, obtain the dimensions of Poynting vector.
h. State and prove Poynting’s theorem. Show that Poynting vector represents the
rate of flow of energy through unit area in an EM wave.
04. Name of Topics: Electromagnetic (EM) Energy Density. EM Wave Propagation
in Unbounded Media:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What is the law of conservation of energy for EM fields?
b. What is the velocity of energy flow in EM waves in free space?
c. What is the phase difference between electric field and magnetic field in free
space?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Prove that EM waves carry energy in the direction of propagation of the waves.
Find an expression for the energy density for the simple plane waves.
e. What is energy density in an electrostatic field? Show that in free space it is u =
(1/2)0E2, where E being the electric field intensity.
f. In EM waves, electric vector is more important than magnetic vector. Explain its
reasoning.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. State Maxwell’s equations in differential form for a system of charges and
currents. Show that the energy density and Poynting vector of the EM field are given
by:
u = 12(0E2 + 0H2) and S = (E X H)
h. Calculate the time averaged energy density and magnitude of the Poynting vector
for the case of a plane EM wave in vacuum and show that the energy density is
propagated with the same velocity as that of the EM fields.
05. Name of Topics: Plane EM waves through vacuum and isotropic dielectric
medium, transverse nature of plane EM waves:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Is earth a good conductor or a good dielectric? How to decide it?
b. In case of EM waves through vacuum, the electrostatic energy density is equal to
the magnetic energy density. Is this statement true or false? Write only true or false
as the correct result may be.
c. If medium is isotropic then there would be no volume distribution of charge. Is
this statement true or false? Write only true or false as the correct result may be.
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Show that uniform plane EM waves are transverse in nature. What are the
propagation characteristics of EM waves in free space?
e. What are good conductors and good dielectrics? Discuss the fundamental criteria
for a good conductor, a good dielectric and quasi-conductors.
f. Discuss the propagation of plane EM waves in an isotropic dielectric medium.
Show that P, E and H are perpendicular to each other.
g. What is the characteristic impedance or intrinsic impedance of free space? What
is its value?
Long Answer Type Questions:
h. Write down Maxwell’s equations for EM fields in a homogeneous isotropic
dielectric. Solve these equations to get the velocity of propagation of EM waves.
Why do we regard these waves as transverse? Show that the wave energy is equally
shared between electric and magnetic fields.
i. Establish the equation of EM waves in a continuous dielectric medium and prove
that EM waves are transverse in nature.
06. Name of Topics: Refractive index and dielectric constant, wave impedance.
Propagation through conducting media, relaxation time, skin depth:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Define strong skin effect. What is its cause?
b. In case of propagation of EM waves in conducting medium, is magnetic energy
density much greater than or less than electric energy density?
c. What is the mathematical nature of attenuation of EM energy in case of
propagation of EM waves in conducting medium?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Show that EM waves travel extremely slowly in a good conductors. Is attenuation
equal to phase vector?
e. Show by way of calculating reflection coefficient at normal incidence that good
conductors are also good reflectors.
f. What is ‘skin depth’ or ‘depth of penetration’? Deduce the expression for skin
depth in general and hence for very good conductors. What is the advantage of low
skin depth of metals?
g. Why at low frequency good conductors are opaque to light? Explain it with
relevant mathematical results.
Long Answer Type Questions:
h. Show, by equations of electrodynamics, that EM waves are strongly attenuated
in a conducting medium. What is the physical reason for attenuation? Calculate
refractive index of very good conductors. Finally discuss the specific conclusions in
case of propagation of EM wave in conducting medium.
i. Discuss the theory of propagation of EM waves in a conducting medium and
explain why in high frequency circuits current flows only on the surface of the
conductor. Show that magnetic vector lags behind the electric vector.
j. Discuss the propagation of plane monochromatic EM waves in conducting media.
Derive the dispersion equation and thus obtain:
(a). Phase velocity, (b). Refractive index, (c). Relaxation time, and (c). Skin depth.
07. Name of Topics: Wave propagation through dilute plasma, electrical conductivity
of ionized gases, plasma frequency, refractive index, skin depth:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Transmission of EM waves in a plasma is possible till refractive index is ………..…
(Fill in the blank).
b. The maximum penetration depth or skin depth is only a function of ……...……..…
(Fill in the blank).
c. In which conditions, electrical conductivity in plasma is imaginary?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. A plane EM wave travels through a uniform plasma. Calculating the Poynting
vector, show that it vanishes if the frequency of the wave is equal to the plasma
frequency.
e. Derive a relation between electrical conductivity and plasma frequency and
discuss its different conclusions.
f. Deduce an expression for refractive index in terms of plasma frequency and
frequency of EM waves propagating through dilute plasma and discuss its different
conclusions.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. Discuss the propagation of EM waves in dilute isotropic plasma. Describe its
different conclusions related to refractive index, electrical conductivity and skin
depth. Is electrical conductivity in plasma purely imaginary? If yes then why so?
08. Name of Topics: EM Wave in Bounded Media: Boundary conditions at a plane
interface between two media:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What EM phenomena take place in two bounded media separated by plane
boundaries (or interface)?
b. Show that at normal incidence, Fresnel’s equations become indeterminate.
c. A part of EM energy is reflected even in case of normal incidence. Which factors
control it?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Write down the EM boundary conditions giving word statements and
mathematical formulae in scalar and vector forms.
e. Find the angle of incidence of an electric field on the boundary between a good
conductor and a good dielectric.
f. Explain the boundary conditions for the EM fields at the interface of the two
optical media.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. Determine the boundary conditions satisfied by B, H, E and D at the interface
between two bounded media of different permeabilities and permitivities.
h. A plane EM wave is incident on a plane boundary between two non-conducting
media. Specify the boundary conditions and hence derive Fresnel’s formulae for the
reflected and transmitted intensities. Discuss some important consequences of
these formulae.
09. Name of Topics: Reflection & Refraction of plane waves at plane interface
between two dielectric media-Laws of Reflection & Refraction:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. In case of reflection and refraction, all the three vectors Ei, Er and Et are identical
functions of the time ‘t’ and position Is this statement true or false? Write only true
or false as the correct result may be.
b. All three, incident, reflected and refracted, waves have same linear and cyclic
frequencies. Is this statement true or false? Write only true or false as the correct
result may be.
c. What do you mean by TE (or s-) polarization and TM (or p-) polarization? What is
the result of an appropriate linear combination of these two cases?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Prove laws of reflection and refraction on the basis of EM theory of light.
e. Define reflection coefficient and transmission coefficient. Is the sum of the two
unity?
f. Show that conservation of energy holds in reflection and refraction. Derive
Fresnel’s relations for TM (or p-) polarization.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. Show that the reflection coefficient for light passing from glass to air at normal
incidence is the same as that for light passing from air to glass. Show further that
the phase changes in the two cases are different.
h. Discuss the phenomena of reflection and refraction of EM waves at the interface
of two dielectric media. Hence discuss the laws of reflection and refraction and
define refractive index.
10. Name of Topics: Fresnel's Formulae for perpendicular & parallel polarization
cases, Brewster's law:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Define Brewster’s angle. Why a Brewster’s angle also called a polarizing angle?
b. The condition for no reflection in perpendicular polarization is ………..… (Fill in the
blank).
c. How can Brewster’s law be used to produce plane-polarized light?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Deduce Fresnel’s equations and hence prove Brewster’s law.
e. Define plane of incidence, perpendicular polarization and parallel polarization.
f. How polarization can be obtained by reflection? Deduce Brewster’s law on the
basis of the EM theory and explain how it can be verified experimentally.
g. The refractive index of a glass slab is 01.56. Find at what angle the light ray be
incident that reflected light is plane polarised and the reflected and refracted rays
are at right angle.
Long Answer Type Questions:
h. An EM wave is incident on dielectric slab bounded by two parallel faces. If the
wave is incident on the front face at Brewster’s angle, then show that the refracted
wave is incident on the back surface at Brewster’s angle also.
i. What is Brewster’s law? Derive it and discuss its applications. If Brewster’s angle is
30°, find the refractive index of that material.
j. Specify the boundary conditions for a plane EM wave incident on a plane interface
between two non-conducting media. What are Fresnel’s equations in EM theory?
Deduce and discuss them with significant facts and consequences.
11. Name of Topics: Reflection & Transmission coefficients. Total internal reflection,
Evanescent waves:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. If there is no reflection and all the light is transmitted, then what are the values
of reflection coefficient and transmission coefficient?
b. Discuss briefly the salient features of total internal reflection.
c. What are Evanescent waves? How they are produced?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Calculate the time-average Poynting vector for the evanescent wave in the second
medium.
e. Derive the value of reflection and transmission coefficient of reflected light when
light is incident at polarizing angle.
f. Discuss the phenomenon of total internal reflection on the basis of the EM theory
of light.
g. Prove that an evanescent wave accompanies total internal reflection.
h. Given two dielectric media, medium 1 is free space and medium 2 has 2 = 40 and
 = 0. Determine reflection coefficient for oblique incidence and 1 = 30, for:
(a). Perpendicular polarization, and (b). Parallel polarization.
Long Answer Type Questions:
i. Show that in total internal reflection a phase difference is introduced between
electric vectors in the plane of incidence and perpendicular to it and hence explain
with theory, the production of circularly polarised light by Fresnel’s rhomb.
j. What are the transmission and reflection coefficients between air and perfect
conductor interface at oblique incidence for TE waves?
12. Name of Topics: Polarization of Electromagnetic Waves: Description of Linear,
Circular and Elliptical Polarization; Propagation of E.M. Waves in Anisotropic
Media:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What is polarization? Explain it by giving its word meaning.
b. Define the terms ‘plane of vibration’ and ‘plane of polarization’.
c. ‘Only transverse waves can be polarised’. Comment on this statement.
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. What are the differences between an ordinary (i.e. unpolarised) wave and a
polarized wave? Express facts in tabular form and discuss in details with 3D
diagrams.
e. What do you understand by polarization of EM waves? Explain linear, circular and
elliptical polarizations with appropriate three dimensional figures.
f. Using the concept of electric vector of EM wave, discuss plane, circularly and
elliptically polarized light. Show that plane polarized and circularly polarized light are
special cases of elliptically polarized light.
g. Show that linearly polarized light may be represented as superposition of two
circularly polarized lights of suitable amplitudes and phases.
Long Answer Type Questions:
h. What are positive and negative crystals? Give the analytical treatment of
elliptically polarized light.
i. Explain in few words about polarization which when an LP, LHCP, or RHCP wave is
incident from free space to a perfect conductor.
j. Explain how you would obtain and detect experimentally a beam of plane-
polarized light by reflection. How does this experiment prove the transverse nature
of light vibrations?
13. Name of Topics: Double Refraction: Polarization by Double Refraction, Nicol
Prism, Ordinary & extraordinary refractive indices:
Very short Answer type Questions:
a. What is optic axis? What are ‘double-image prisms’?
b. In a Nicol prism, the E-ray is lost by total internal reflection while the O-ray
emerges out undeviated. Is this statement true or false? Write only true or false as
the correct result may be.
c. Extraordinary ray in a calcite crystal disobeys the laws of ………………………….……..
(Fill in the blank).
d. The velocities of ordinary and extraordinary rays in a calcite crystal are equal along
the direction of …………………..……….. (Fill in the blank).
e. If ellipsoid and sphere are the wave surfaces in a positive uniaxial crystal like
quartz, the diameter of the sphere is equal to the …………….………… (Fill in the blank).
Short Answer Type Questions:
f. Explain double refraction in uniaxial crystals. How can you show that they are
plane-polarized?
g. Explain the principle, construction and working of a Nicol prism with a neat
diagram.
h. Write a short note on ‘double-image prisms’, indicating their advantage over a
Nicol prism.
i. Give Huygens’ postulates for double refraction in uniaxial crystals. Explain what
you understand by the principal refractive indices of a crystal. How can they be
determined experimentally?
j. Why does the O-ray suffer total internal reflection and not the E-ray?
Long Answer Type Questions:
k. Explain the concept of double refraction with its origin. What are birefringence
and birefringent materials? What are O-ray and E-ray? How do these differ from
each other? Define ordinary and extraordinary refractive indices of optical crystals.
Explain optical features of uniaxial and biaxial crystals.
l. Describe the construction of Nicol prism (i.e. double refraction type polarizer).
Explain how it can be used as a polarizer and as an analyser. Would a similar prism
prepared from quartz serve a similar purpose?
14. Name of Topics: Production & Detection of Plane, Circularly and Elliptically
Polarized Light:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. Linear and circular polarizations are special cases of elliptic polarization. Is this
statement true or false? Write only true or false as the correct result may be.
b. At a particular angle of incidence, out of two components, only s-component is
present. What is the name of that particular angle?
c. Brewster’s law can be used to determine the refractive indices of ……………
materials (Fill in the blank).
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. How would you obtain plane polarized light by reflection and scattering?
e. How can plane and circularly polarized light be detected?
f. What are optically isotropic and anisotropic materials or media? Discuss their roles
in case of polarization.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. What is a Nicol prism? Explain its construction and working in obtaining plane
polarized light.
h. Discuss theoretically the superposition of two linearly –polarized light waves of
the same frequency travelling in the same direction at right angles to the optic axis
of a doubly-refracting crystal with their optical vectors perpendicular. Discuss its
different special cases.
15. Name of Topics: Phase Retardation Plates: Quarter-Wave and Half-Wave Plates.
Babinet’s Compensator and its Uses. Analysis of Polarized Light:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. A quarter-wave plate introduces a phase difference of ………………. Or a path
difference of ………………… (Fill in the blanks).
b. Write an expression for a phase difference between E-ray and O-ray introduced
by a half-wave plate.
c. A compensator is an optical device whose function is to compensate a …………………
(Fill in the blanks).
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. What would be the phase difference introduced by a quarter-wave plate and a
half-wave plate?
e. If a quarter-wave plate and a half-wave plate are given to you, how would you
proceed to distinguish them from each other?
f. What is Babinet’s Compensator? What are its advantages over phase retardation
plates?
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. What are phase retardation plates? What are Quarter-Wave, Half-Wave and Full-
Wave Plates? Describe how quarter wave and half wave plates are made. Explain
their role in producing circularly polarized light.
h. Describe the construction of Quarter-Wave and Half-Wave (retardation) plates,
obtaining expressions for their thickness in terms of refractive indices of their
material at a given wavelength. Explain their uses in the study of different types of
polarized light.
i. Describe how, with the help of a Nicol prism and a quarter wave plate, plane
polarized light, circularly polarised light and elliptically polarized light are produced
and detected.
j. What is Babinet’s compensator? Explain how it can be used to analyse elliptically
polarized light? What are the advantages of Babinet’s compensator over a quarter-
wave plate?
16. Name of Topics: Rotatory Polarization: Optical Rotation. Biot’s Laws for
Rotatory Polarization:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What are optically active substances? Write names of its two types.
b. The phenomenon of rotation of the plane of polarization is known as ……….…….
(Fill in the blanks).
c. The angle of rotation of the plane of polarization is the least for red light and the
greatest for the violet light. State why?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. What is optical activity? How Fresnel explained its cause? On what factors the
specific rotation depends? Write the unit of specific rotation.
e. Describe the basic optical features of optically active materials. What are the
names of the two types of optically active materials? Discuss about their optical
properties and applications.
f. State and explain Biot’s laws for rotatory polarisation. Discuss the factors on which
the angle of rotation of the plane of polarization depends. Different colours undergo
different rotations. Explain why?
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. State the laws of rotatory polarization. Discuss phenomenon of the rotation of the
plane of polarization of light by optically active materials. Give the necessary theory.
What is rotatory dispersion?
h. Distinguish clearly between dextrorotatory (or d-type) and laevorotatory (or l-
type) substances, giving some examples of each. Describe the construction and
working of an accurate polarimeter and explain the principle underlying its action.
17. Name of Topics: Fresnel’s Theory of optical rotation. Calculation of angle of
rotation:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What is the relation between the specific rotation and molecular weight of any
optically active material?
b. In dextrorotatory substance, RH polarization travels faster than LH polarization. Is
this statement true or false? Write only true or false as the correct result may be.
c. Which are the factors on which angle of rotation depends? Is angle of rotation a
function of length of the optical sample?
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. Give a qualitative explanation of optical rotation in molecular substances. For a
given material how does the optical rotation generally vary with wavelength?
e. Show that the rotation of plane of vibration is given by:
 = (d/)(A - B)
Where A (or L) and B (or R)are respectively the refractive indices of the crystal
in the direction of the optic axis for anticlockwise and clockwise circularly polarised
lights and d is the thickness of the crystal plate and  is the wavelength of light used.
f. Optical activity originates from the regular arrangement of molecules or atoms in
the crystals and substances. Illustrate and explain this statement with suitable
examples.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. What is specific rotation in optical activity? On what factors does it depend?
Explain Fresnel’s theory of rotation of the plane of polarization. Discuss the
dependence of rotation on wavelength.
h. Give Fresnel’s hypothesis for rotatory polarization and derive a formula for the
rotation of plane of polarization in quartz. What experimental evidence is there in
support of Fresnel’s theory?
18. Name of Topics: Experimental verification of Fresnel’s theory. Specific rotation.
Laurent’s half-shade polarimeter:

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What is a polarimeter? What type of source of light is used in Laurent’s half shade
polarimeter?
b. When plane polarized light enters the optically active crystal, it is resolved into
two polarised vibrations which travel with different velocities. What is the optical
nature of those two polarized vibrations?
c. What is the relation between the phase-difference between the two emergent
circularly polarised vibrations and the angle of rotation of the plane of polarization?
d. Write the name of the polarimeter in which half-shade plate is used.
Short Answer Type Questions:
e. Explain how polarized light is produced in polarimeter. Why is an arrangement of
two crossed Nicol prisms alone not preferable in a polarimeter?
f. Explain the optical rotation observed in concentrated cane sugar solution.
g. Define specific rotation. Write a short note on Laurent’s half shade polarimeter.
Long Answer Type Questions:
h. What do you meant by optical rotation? Describe construction and working of a
Laurent’s half shade polarimeter, explaining fully the action of the half shade device.
How would you use it to determine the specific rotation of glucose or cane sugar
solution?
i. Give the experimental verification of Fresnel’s formula. How specific rotation be
experimentally determined by using Laurent’s half shade polarimeter? What are its
limitations?
19. Name of Topics: Optical Fibers - Numerical Aperture. Step and Graded Indices
(Definitions Only):

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What is an optical fiber? Draw its neat diagram.
b. Define numerical aperture (NA) with its mathematical formula which shows that
NA is independent of its physical dimensions.
c. A measure of the light gathering power of an optical fibre is ………………………….….
(Fill in the blank).
d. Define acceptance angle and the angle of the acceptance cone with its
mathematical formula.
Short Answer Type Questions:
e. What do you mean by ‘core’ and ‘cladding’ of an optical fiber? Whose refractive
index is more and why? What is the essential differences between a ‘step-index’ and
a ‘graded-index’ type optical fibres? Draw their refractive index profile.
f. Find the values of the numerical aperture (NA) and hence the acceptance angle
for a step-index fiber. Given that while the refractive index of the core is 01.51, that
of the material used for cladding is given by 01.47.
g. The numerical aperture of an optical fiber is 0.50 and the refractive index of the
core is 01.54. Find the refractive index of the cladding, the acceptance angle and the
angle of the acceptance cone for that optical fiber.
Long Answer Type Questions:
h. Describe the structure of a typical optical fibre giving the necessary diagram. What
do you mean by numerical aperture and acceptance angle? Describe, with necessary
diagram, the step-index (homogeneous core) and graded-index (inhomogeneous
core) optical fibres. In what respect do they differ?
i. Discuss classification bases of optical fibres. What is a graded-index fibre? Discuss
its advantages over a step-index fibre. For a step-index optical fibre, using Snell’s law
of refraction, calculate the numerical aperture and the acceptance angle of the fibre.
j. Explain the physical concepts of Core, Cladding and Jacket or Sheath of an optical
fibre with their important functions. Compare the numerical aperture of an optical
microscope and that of an optical fibre. What are the advantages of the graded-
index fibre over step-index fibre?
20. Name of Topics: Single and Multiple Mode Fibres (Concept and Definition Only):

Very short Answer type Questions:

a. What is normalized frequency or cut-off parameter or V-parameter? It depends
upon which factors?
b. When V-parameter of an optical fibre is less than 02.405, then this optical fibre
will support ………….. (Fill in the blank).
c. Write two prominent applications of an optical fibre.
Short Answer Type Questions:
d. What are the different classes of optical fibres? Discuss their relative merits and
demerits.
e. Explain the meaning of a single mode and a multimode optical fibres.
f. For a step-index fibre, the normalized frequency is 26.60 at a wavelength of 1300
nm. Determine the numerical aperture (NA) if the core radius is 25 m.
Long Answer Type Questions:
g. What are Single Mode Step Index Fibre (SMF, Core diameter < 10 m), Multimode
Step Index Fibre (MMF, Core diameter  62.50 m) and Multimode Graded Index
Fibre (GRIN)? Compare the Single Mode Step Index Fibre (SMF) and Multimode
Graded Index Fibre (GRIN) in tabular form.
h. Discuss the important functions performed by the cladding of an optical fibre.
Calculate the numerical aperture NA, fractional refractive index difference ,
normalized frequency V and number of modes N in an optical fibre of core diameter
50 m. Core and cladding refractive indices are 01.41 and 01.40 respectively at
operating wavelength of 820 nm.