Chapter: 3

INTERFERENCE
By Sutapa Das
Superposition of waves
When two or more waves overlap , the resultant displacement at any point and at any instant may be
found by adding the instantaneous displacements that would be produced at the point by the individual
waves if each were present alone.
Case 1:- The amplitude of the resultant wave is equal to the sum
of the amplitudes of the two waves

The interference produced at this point is known as constructive

interference.

Case 2:- When the two waves are in the opposite phase.

The interference produced at these points is known as destructive interference.

INTERFERENCE
The phenomenon of redistribution of light energy due to the superposition of
light waves from two or more coherent sources is known as interference.

Two ways to obtain interference using coherent sources are ,

1. Division of wave front.
2. Division of Amplitude.
 1. Division of wave front.
A beam is allowed to fall and closely spaced holes and two beam
emerging from the holes interfere. This method is known as
division of wave front.

• In the year 1668 Grimaldi attempted to produced interference between

two beam of light .
• In the year 1801 Thomas Young gave the first demonstration of the
interference.
 Young’s Double – slit experiment.

• A source monochromatic light is

illuminated on slit S which produces
primary wave front.
• Cylindrical wavefront are produce from slit
S , which falls on the two narrow closely
spaced slit S1 and S2.
• S1 and S2 slits are very narrow and become
coherent sources because they are form
from the same primary source.
• These two sources interfere with each
other and produce alternate dark and bright
bands on the screen at C.
• This method is known as division of
wavefront.
Optical path difference between the waves.
Bright Fringes
Dark Fringes

Dark fringes occur whenever the waves from S1 and S2 interfere destructively .
Frist dark fringe occurs when,
Thin Film Theory
Division of Amplitude

A beam is divided at two or

more reflecting surfaces and
the reflected beams interfere,
this method is known as
division of Amplitude.
Formation of colours in thin film – Reflected system

• Let us consider a transparent film of uniform

thickness ‘t’ bounded by parallel surface.
• Consider a plane waves from a
monochromatic source is incident at an
angle ‘ I’ on the plane.
• Part of a ray such as AB is reflected along BC
ands part of it is transmitted into the
medium along BF.
• Transmitted ray BF makes an angle ‘ r’ with
the normal to the surface at the point G.
• The ray BF is in turn partly reflected back
into the film along FD while a major part
refracts into the surrounding medium along
FK
Geometrical Path Difference

Optical Path Difference

Conditions for maxima and minima