“PHYSICS ASSIGNMENT # 1”

Submitted to: Sir Asif mirza sab

Submitted by: Muhammad Raheem

Sap: (70076851)

Class: BS Math SEM 2

Topic: “Diffraction Grating”

Date: 21th

“DIFFRACTION GRATING”
A grating is a glass plate upon which is used a very large number of equally spaced parallel
lines by means of a fine diamond point. The lines are opaque and the portion of glass
between the lines is transparent & acts as a slit. Thus a grating is a combination of a very
large number of slits. When light passes through a slit, it is differcated through a certain
angle. That is why a grating is called diffraction grating. Usually 15000 to 20000 lines are
ruled in one inch of glass class plate. In order to decompose a spectrum, we can use a
diffraction grating.

Fig(a)
The spacing “d” between the slit is called the lattice constant of the grating. Considere a
collimated parallel light beam incident on a grating from the left as shown in figure above.
Each slit will diffract the beam and act in turn as a new source of waves.
The waves all begin in phase at the slits but depending on the diffraction angle with which
they leave the grating, they travel different paths to the screen and may be out a phase by
that point. From the figure the difference in the path length for two adjacent slits is :”d
sinθ”. For the grating to form a maximum at some point on the screen, the wave must be in
phase there. This will occur if the path difference is an integral multiple of the wavelength.
d sinθ = nλ where n = 123………

Where “n” is called order of maxima. The above equation shows that the maxima for a given
wavelength will occur at different angles with respect to the source beam direction. This is
how the diffraction grating decomposes a spectrum into its individual wavelength. When
light shines through the grating, particular colours will appear at several lower and higher
angles relative to the forward direction θ = 0ο. The order number “n”refers to the relative
position of maximum with respect to θ = 0ο.
 Fig(b)
One application of diffraction grating is in spectrometer with the help of which we can find
wavelength of light. The spectrometer contain three components, a collimator tube, turn
table and telescope. The collimator tube takes light from source. when the parallel rays exit
the tube, they travel to the diffraction grating which is mounted in the centre of the
turntable. The light diffracted by the grating maybe viewed through an eyepiece at the end
of the telescope tube. The telescope is able to swivel with respect to the grating, allowing
observer to sweep through a set of angles and observe the angle dependence of the various
spectral lines.
Using equation “d sinθ = nλ” we can then use this angle to determine wavelength of each
line we observe. to determine angles the spectrometer base contains a graduated circle
attached to the telescope. As we turn the telescope we can read of angle θ using the angular
scale scored in to the circle. There are two scales in spectrometer, one the fixed scale (in
degrees) is called main scale and the other which moves on this scale is called vernier scale.
 Dispersion and resolving power of grating
(1)-Sharpness of spectral lines and (2)-the spacing “∆ θ” between lines that differ in
wavelength by small amount” ∆ λ”
In a diffraction grating, for principal maximum, path difference “dsinθ” between rays from
any pair of adjacent slits is integral multiple of wavelength.
d sinθ = mλ where n = ±1, ±2, ±3………

Taking different we have,

∆θ m
d cosθ × ∆ θ = m × ∆ λ or =
∆ λ d cosθ
∆θ
The ratio of is called dispersion of grating and is denoted by the D.
∆λ
m
D=
d cosθ
This Equation shows that dispersion is independent of number of rulings on grating and
dispersion increases as separation between slits decreases.
Figure (a) shows that central maximum of the diffraction patterns of two spectral lines of
wavelength λ1 and λ2. The difference in the angle of deffraction is large and the two images
can be seen as separate ones. In figure (b) the central maxima corresponding to the
wavelength λ and λ+ ∆ λ are very close.
The resultant intensity curve give a maximum as at “C” and the intensity of this maximum is
higher than the individual intensities of both spectral lines. In figure(c) the position of the
central maximum of wavelength “λ”consides with the position of the first minimum of
wavelength” λ+ ∆ λ”.
The resultant intensity curve shows a dip at “C”, for example in the middle of the central
maxima of both spectral lines.
If spectrograph is turned from the position corresponding to the central image of “A” to the
one corresponding to the image of “B’, there is a decrease in intensity between the two
central maxima.
The spectal lines can be distinguished from one another and according to Rayleighthse are
said to be just resolved.

Figure (c)

Figure (d)
 Figure(c)
Two imges are said to be just resolved the radius of the central disc of either pattern is
equalto the distance between the centers of the two patterns.
For a diffractio grating, ( a+ b ) Sinθ=nλ
λ
Suppose M = number of lines on the grating M ( a+b ) Sinθ=Mnλ ±
2
For first minimumon either side of principal maxima,
Mπ ( a+b ) Sinθ
=Mnπ ± π
λ
nπ λ
Sinθ= + ………………..1)
a+b M ( a+b )
According to Rayleigh criterion,
( a+ b ) Sinθ=n ( λ+dλ)
n (λ+ dλ)
Sinθ= …………………………………..2)
a+b
From eq(1) & eq(2)
n ( λ+dλ ) nλ λ
= +
a+ b a+ b M ( a+b )
λ
nλ+ ndλ=nλ+
M
λ
ndλ=
M
λ
nM =
dλ
λ
We define resolving power of grating as and denoted by R, so R = nM
dλ
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