PHYSICS

INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT

Single Slit Experiment

Submitted by
Adwita Singh, XII-A
 This is to certify that the Project Entitled SINGLE SLIT
EXPERIMENT has been undertaken at Apeejay School, Nerul, Navi
Mumbai by Ms. Adwita Singh, in partial fulfilment of the requirement for
qualifying PHYSICS XII/CBSE/2022-2023 Examination. It is further certified
that they have completed all required phases of the Project.

Internal Guide External Examiner’

Signature Signature

Principal’s Signature

School Seal

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 INDEX

Pg No.
SR. NO CONTENTS
3
1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
4
2 INTRODUCTION
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3 AIM & APPARATUS
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4 THEORY & DIAGRAM
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5 PROCEDURE & OBSERVATION
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6 CALCULATION & RESULT
PRECAUTION & SOURCES OF 8
7
ERROR
9
8 APPLICATION
BIBLIOGRAPHY 10
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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

A project is a golden opportunity for learning and self-development. I consider

myself fortunate and privilege to have such wonderful mentors guide me through
the journey for the completion of the project. I, as student would like to thank the
CBSE Board for initiating such projects which gives a real and wider perspective
of the subject. We would like to extend our gratitude to the School Authorities of
our school for their support during the making of this project. I would also like to
thank our Physics teacher, for her constant guidance, supervision and help
whenever necessary, without which I would not have been able to undertake this
project work and duly complete it. I would like to thank our parents and friends
for their constant support and motivation. Sincere thanks and gratitude to all our
teachers, classmates and family members for helping us out whenever we needed
during the preparation of this project.

NAME: - ADWITA SINGH

CLASS XII-A

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INTRODUCTION

A. Introduction to Diffraction

What is Diffraction?
“Diffraction is a slight bending of light as it passes
around the edge of an object.
The amount of bending depends on the relative size of the wavelength of light to
the size of the opening. If the opening is
much larger than the light’s wavelength, the bending
will be almost unnoticeable.”

Diffraction refers to various

phenomena that occur when
a wave encounters an
obstacle or a slit. It is
defined as the bending of light around the corners of
an obstacle or aperture into the region of geometrical
shadow of the obstacle In classical physics, the
diffraction phenomenon is described as the interference of waves according to
the Huygens-Fresnel principle. These characteristic behaviours are exhibited
when a wave encounters an obstacle or a slit that is comparable in size to its
wavelength.
Diffraction occurs with all waves, including sound waves, water waves,and
electromagnetic waves such as visible light, rays and radio waves.

If we look clearly at the shadow cast by an opaque object, close to the region of
geometrical shadow, there are alternate dark and bright regions, just like in
interference. This is just due to the phenomenon of the diffraction, which is a
general characteristic exhibited by all types of the waves. Since wavelength of
light is much smaller than the dimensions of most of the obstacles, we do not
generally encounter the effects of diffraction of light in the everyday life
observations. However the finite resolution of our eye or of the optical fiber
instruments such as telescopes or microscopes is limited due to the phenomenon
of diffraction Since physical objects have wave-like properties, diffraction also
occurs with matter
andcan be studied according to the principles of quantum mechanics. Italianscie
ntist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word "diffraction" and was the first
to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1660.

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 B. When Does Diffraction Occurs
Diffraction occurs whenever propagating waves encounter changes, its effects
are generally most pronounced for waves whose wavelength is roughly
comparable to the dimensions of the diffracting object or slit. If the obstructing
object provides multiple, closely spaced openings, a complex pattern of varying
intensity can result. This is due to the addition, or interference, of different parts
of a wave that travel to the observer by different paths, where different path
lengths result in different phases. The formalism of diffraction can also describe
the way in which waves of finite extent propagate in free space.

AIM
• To observe the Diffraction pattern by performing Single Slit Experiment.
• To derive the expression for fringe width.
• To draw the intensity vs. path difference graph.

APPARATUS

Mount Board, 2 Razor Blades (0.01cm), Laser (630-680nm), Piece of paper

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THEORY

Single-slit diffraction

A long slit of infinitesimal width which is illuminated by light diffracts the light
into a series of circular waves and the wave front which emerges from the slit is
a cylindrical wave of uniform intensity. A slit which is wider than a
wavelength produces interference effects. These can be explained by assuming
that the slit behaves as though it has a large number of point sources spaced
evenly across the width of the slit. The analysis of this system is simplified if
we consider light of a single wavelength. If the incident light is coherent, these
sources all have the same phase. Light incident at a given point in the space
downstream of the slit is made up of contributions from each of these point
sources and if the relative phases of these
contributions vary by 2π or more, we may expect to find
minima and maxima in the diffracted light. Such phase differences are caused
by differences in the path lengths over which contributing rays reach the point
from the slit.

When the double slit in young’s double slit

experiment is replaced by a single narrow slit illuminated by a monochromatic
source, a
broad pattern with a central bright region is seen. On both sides there are alterna
te bright and dark fringes and regions, the intensity becoming weaker away
from the centre.

DERIVATION
We shall assume that the slit width d<<L.
L is the separation between the slit and the source
Then the width of n small slits will be t = d/n
Then the angle of diffraction will be given as
sinθ = nλ/t
For small angles sinθ ≈ tanθ ≈ θ
Then, we can say θ = nλ/t
The position of central maxima y = nλL/t
Central maxima is observed at n=0 with a width
of 2λLt and angular width of 2θ=2λt
For secondary destructive interference or for dark
fringe n=−2,−1,1,2..n
Clearly, n≠0

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PROCEDURE

1) On a square piece of paper carefully make a slit with the blade

2) Keep the slit parallel to the screen, that is the mount board, Ideally on a
stand

3) Pass the laser light through the slit and observe the pattern thus formed on
the screen by the slit.

OBSERVATION:
It is observed that the central maxima is the brightest as compared to the
secondary and tertiary maximas.

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CALCULATION

Distance b/w Slit Fringe

Wavelength
Sr No. Screen & Distance Width
λ (cm)
Source D (cm) a (cm) β (cm)

1 650 50 0.01 0.16

2 650 100 0.01 0.32

RESULT:
The width of central maxima is twice the width of secondary maxima.

PRECAUTION:
Protect your eyes by using spectacles while performing the experiment.
Use of sunlight is not ideal and wouldn’t show the results.
SOURCES OF ERROR:
• The slit should be cut with a very thin blade.
• Laser should be monochromatic.
• The distance between the slit and the screen should be large as compared
to the width of the slit.

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APPLICATIONS:
The effects of diffraction are often seen in
everyday life :-

• CD’s
The closely spaced tracks on a CD or
DVD act as a diffraction grating to form
the familiar rainbow pattern seen when
looking at a disc.

• Iridescent clouds
Iridescent clouds are a
diffraction phenomenon caused by
small water droplets or small ice
crystals individually scattering light.

• Twinkling stars
are another example of diffraction of
light. As light from
stars pass through the earth's atmosphere
which is laden with water vapor, the light
bends around the water droplets causing
the twinkling effect.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY:

www.google.com
www.wikipedia.com
www.youtube.com
Physics NCERT Part II Class XII

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