PHYSICAL OPTICS

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- Interference
- Youngs Double slit experiment
- Diffraction
- Dispersion of light and electromagnetic
spectrum
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Contents
- The effects due to superposition of the two
sets of waves is called interference.
- Types:
Constructive interference
Destructive interference.

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INTERFERENCE
- Constructive interference
occurs whenever waves
come together so that
they are in phase with
each other. This means
that their oscillations at a
given point are in the
same direction, the
resulting amplitude at
that point being much
larger than the amplitude
of an individual wave.

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Constructive Interference
- Destructive
interference occurs
when waves come
together in such a way
that they completely
cancel each other out.
When two waves
interfere destructively,
they must have the
same amplitude in
opposite directions.

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Destructive interference
- Equal or frequency
- Superposition at the same time
- Superposition at the same place
- Travelling in same direction
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Conditions for Interference
- For constructive interference :
Path difference = n
- For destructive interference :
Path difference = (n+1/2)

Path difference is the difference in length of the paths covered by
two sets of waves which originate from two different sources and
arrive at the place of superposition of waves
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Conditions for Interference
- Thomas Young first demonstrated interference in
light waves from two sources in 1801
- Light is incident on a screen with a narrow slit, S
o

- The light waves emerging from this slit arrive at a
second screen that contains two narrow, parallel slits,
S
1
and S
2.

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Youngs Double Slit Experiment
- The narrow slits,
S
1
and S
2
act as
sources of waves
- The waves
emerging from
the slits originate
from the same
wave front and
therefore are
always in phase

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Youngs Double Slit Experiment,
Diagram
- The light from the two slits form a visible pattern on a
screen
- The pattern consists of a series of bright and dark
parallel bands called fringes
- Constructive interference occurs where a bright fringe
appears
- Destructive interference results in a dark fringe
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Resulting Interference Pattern
- The fringe pattern
formed from a Youngs
Double Slit Experiment
would look like this
- The bright areas
represent constructive
interference
- The dark areas
represent destructive
interference

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Fringe Pattern
- Constructive
interference
occurs at the
center point
- The two waves
travel the same
distance
- Therefore, they
arrive in phase

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Interference Patterns
- The upper wave has to
travel farther than the
lower wave
- The upper wave travels one
wavelength farther
- Therefore, the waves arrive in
phase
- A bright fringe occurs

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Interference Patterns, 2
- The upper wave travels
one-half of a
wavelength farther
than the lower wave
- The trough of the
bottom wave overlaps
the crest of the upper
wave
- This is destructive
interference
- A dark fringe occurs

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Interference Patterns, 3
- The path difference, , is
found from the tan
triangle
- = r
2
r
1
= d sin
- This assumes the paths are
parallel
- Not exactly parallel, but a
very good approximation
since L is much greater
than d
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Interference Equations
- For a bright fringe, produced by constructive
interference, the path difference must be
either zero or some integral multiple of the
wavelength
- = d sin
bright
= m
- m = 0, 1, 2,
- m is called the order number
- When m = 0, it is the zeroth order maximum
- When m = 1, it is called the first order maximum

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Interference Equations, 2
- The positions of the fringes can be measured
vertically from the zeroth order maximum
- y = L tan ~ L sin
- Assumptions
- L>>d
- d>>
- Approximation
- is small and therefore the approximation tan ~ sin
can be used
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Interference Equations, 3
- When destructive interference occurs, a dark fringe is
observed
- This needs a path difference of an odd half
wavelength
- = d sin
dark
= (m + )
- m = 0, 1, 2,


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Interference Equations, 4
- For bright fringes



- For dark fringes

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Interference Equations, final
0, 1, 2
bright
L
y m m
d

= =
1
0, 1, 2
2
dark
L
y m m
d

| |
= + =
|
\ .
- Determination of wavelength of light
= d/D * (fringe width)
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Uses of Youngs Double Slit
Experiment
- A screen is separated from a double slit source by 1.2m.
The distance between two slits is 0.03mm. The second
order bright fringe is measured to be 4.5cm from central
line. Determine (a) wavelength of light (b) fringe spacing.
- Solution:
(a) y= mD/d
d=0.03mm , y= 4.5cm, m =2, D=1.2m
= d y/m D = 5.6 *10^-7m
(b) Fringe width = D/d = 0.2m
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Example
- Diffraction is the ability
of light waves to bend
around obstacles
placed in their path.
- Diffraction is the
spreading out of waves
through an opening or
around the edge of an
obstacle.

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Diffraction
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Diffraction
Light Diffraction through clouds
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25
- When light encounters
an obstacle it spreads
out and bends into a
geometric shadow.
The diffraction pattern
is formed on the
screen.

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Diffraction, contd..
screen
- Diffraction, like
interference
characterizes the
wave nature of
light.

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Diffraction, contd..
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Water Waves Spread Out behind a
Small Opening

- Diffraction is referred
to as the interference
of infinite number of
wavelets.

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Significance:
- When the path length
difference between rays r1
and r2 is l/2, the two rays will
be out of phase when they
reach P1 on the screen,
resulting in destructive
interference at P1. The path
length difference is the
distance from the starting
point of r2 at the center of
the slit to point b.

- For D>>a, the path length
difference between rays r1
and r2 is (a/2) sin q.

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Diffraction by a Single Slit: Locating
the Minima

- Repeat previous analysis for pairs of rays, each separated by a vertical
distance of a/2 at the slit.
- Setting path length difference to /2 for each pair of rays, we obtain the
first dark fringes at:

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Diffraction by a Single Slit: Locating the
Minima, cont'd

sin sin
2 2
a
a

u u = =
(first minimum)
For second minimum, divide slit into 4 zones
of equal widths a/4 (separation between
pairs of rays). Destructive interference occurs
when the path length difference for each pair
is /2.
sin sin 2
4 2
a
a

u u = =
(second minimum)
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- Dividing the slit into
increasingly larger even
numbers of zones, we
can find higher order
minima:

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(minima-dark fringes) sin , for 1, 2, 3 a m m u = =
Diffraction by a Single Slit:
Locating the Minima, cont'd