Particle Size Determination by Laser

(i) DETERMINATION OF SIZE OF THE PARTICLE:

Radius of the dark

Dx10-2m mD
S.No ring from the S= μm
Rm
centre Rm cm

Mean: =

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Ex. No.: Date:

DETERMINATION OF LASER PARAMETERS - WAVE LENGTH AND PARTICLE SIZE

Aim:
To determine the particle size of lycopodium powder, angle of
divergence and the wavelength of the given laser source

Apparatus required:
Laser source, lycopodium powder, meter scale, paper, pencil, screen, grating, etc.

Formula:
(i) Particle size is given by the formula
mD
S= μm
Rm

(ii) Wavelength of laser source  = Sin  Å

nN

Where
m - Dark ring order (m = 1,2,....)
λ - Wavelength of laser source Å ( x 10-10 m )
D - Distance between the glass plate and screen m
Rm - Radius of the mth ring m
θ - Angle of diffraction Deg
N - Number of lines / Metre in the grating.

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 Left Right

Wavelength of Laser Source using Grating

(ii) DETERMINATION OF WAVELENGTH OF LASER LIGHT:

Readings of Diffracted image

Left side Right side
Order Sin 
S. D Distance of tan = Distance of tan = Mean  =
of nN
no diffraction different = tan-1 different = tan-1
(m) orders from Xm Xm orders from Xm Xm  (Å)
the central spot D D the central spot D D

(n) (m) (deg) (deg) (m) (deg) (deg) (deg)

Mean :
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(i) Determination of particle size

Principle:
The experiment is based on the principle of diffraction. The bending of light waves round
the corners of obstacles or apertures, when their size is comparable with the wavelength of light is
called diffraction.

Procedure:
The laser beam is incident on a glass plate dusted with lycopodium powder (fig.) The
dust particles on the glass plate act as a randomized two-dimensional grating and produce a
diffraction pattern on the screen. The diffraction pattern consists of faint concentric circles (fig).

We may not see more than three orders. Measure the radii (x m) of the dark rings from its
center to the central bright spot as shown in figure. And the values are recorded as below is table. The
distance (D) between the glass plate and the screen is noted. Assuming the wave length of laser source,
the particle size can be determined from the given formula corresponding to each order and mean value
can be found. The dark room is preferred to see the diffraction clearly and for better results.

(ii) Determination of wavelength

Principle:
The experiment is based on the principle of diffraction. The bending of light waves round
the corners of obstacles or apertures when their size is comparable with the wavelength of light is
called diffraction.

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Procedure:

He-Ne laser is kept horizontally and switched on .The grating is held normal to the laser
beam. This is done by adjusting the grating in such a way that the reflected laser beam coincides
with the beam coming out of the laser source.

After adjusting for normal incidence, the laser light is exposed to the grating and is
diffracted by it .On the other side of the grating, the diffracted laser spots are seen on the screen.
The distance of different orders from the central spot are measured

The distance between the grating and screen (D) is also measured.

Using the table, θ is calculated. The wavelength of the laser light is found using the formula
(1). The number of lines in the grating is assumed.

It can be also measured from the experiment using known wavelength of the standard
source and using the formula,

Sin
= Å
nN

RESULT :

(i) Average particle size =.................................................micrometer

(ii) Wavelength of the laser source =................................................. Å

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