Interference 11

S1 d
d

B
q¢
2d
S
C
q

S2

D
A¢
Y
Figure 1.10

Let monochromatic light from slit S fall on the biprism, placed at a small distance from S. When the light falls
on upper part of the biprism, it bends downward and appears to come from source S1. Similarly, the other
part of the light when falls on the lower part of the biprism, bends upward and appears to come from source
S2. Here, the images S1 and S2 act as two virtual coherent sources of light (Fig. 1.10). Coherent sources are
the one that have a constant or zero phase difference throughout. In the situation, on placing the screen XY on
right side of the biprism, we obtain an alternate bright and dark fringes in the overlapping region BC.
1.9.1.1 Theory of Fringes
X
Let A and B be two virtual coherent sources of light separated by a distance
P
2d. The screen XY, on which the fringes are obtained, is separated by a
distance D from the two coherent sources, as shown in Fig. 1.11. The
point C on the screen is equidistant from A and B. Therefore, the path xn
difference between the two waves from sources A and B at point C is
zero. Thus the point C will be the centre of a bright fringe. On both sides A N
of C, alternately bright and dark fringes are produced. d
2d S C
Draw perpendiculars AN and BM from A and B on the screen. Let the d
B M
distance of a point P on the screen from the central bright fringe at C be D
xn. Y
From geometry, we have Figure 1.11

NP = xn – d; MP = xn + d
In right angled DANP,
AP2 = AN2 + NP2 (i)
2 2
= D + (xn – d)