DIFFRACTION AND

INTERFERENCE
 INTERFERENCE

Interference – refers to a situation when two or more waves

overlap in space.

Principle of Superposition – when

two or more waves overlap, the
resultant displacement at any point
and any instant is found by adding
the instantaneous displacements that
would be produced at any point by
the individual waves if each were
present alone.

Interference is best observed when sinusoidal waves of the same

frequency f and wavelength  are combined.
 Sinusoidal waves of
frequency f and wavelength 
spreading out from a source S1 in
all directions. The wave fronts
move outward at the wave speed
v = f.
 CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE

Consider two identical

sources, S1 and S2, of
monochromatic light (light of
single color).

The waves produced by the

sources have the same amplitude, the
same wavelength, same frequency,
and are permanently in-phase.

The two sources are said to

be coherent.

Point a in the figure is equidistant from S1 and S2. Waves from the two
sources are in-phase when they arrive at a.
The distance from S2 to point b is exactly two wavelengths greater than
the distance from S1 to point b. Waves from the two sources are in-phase when
they arrive at b.
CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE: When waves from two or more
sources arrive at a point in-phase, the amplitude of the resulting wave is
the sum of the amplitudes of individual waves.

If r1 and r2 are the

respective distances of S1 and S2
from point b, constructive
interference will occur if the path
difference r2 – r1 is an integral
multiple of the wavelength.

r2 – r1 = m

(m = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)

DESTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE: When waves from two or more
sources arrive at a point half wavelength out-of-phase, the amplitude of
the resulting wave is the difference of the amplitudes of individual
waves.
The path difference of the
waves from S2 and S1 at point c is
r2 – r1 = -2.50, which is a
half-integral number of wavelengths.
Waves from the two sources
are half-wavelength out-of-phase
when they arrive at c.

r2 – r1 = (m + ½) 

(m = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)

 TWO-SOURCE INTERFERENCE: Young’s Experiment

A monochromatic light source is shone on a narrow slit So (about

1 m wide).
The light emerging from So falls on a screen with two other slits,
S1 and S2, equidistant from So.
 TWO-SOURCE INTERFERENCE: Young’s Experiment

The light coming from the two slits are always in-phase and are
therefore coherent.
A screen is placed at a distance R from the two slits.
 TWO-SOURCE INTERFERENCE: Young’s Experiment

The light coming from the two slits form an interference pattern
on the screen. The pattern is an alternating dark and bright bands of
light.
The bright bands are where the two light sources interfere
constructively and the dark bands where they interfere destructively.
 If the distance from the slits to the screen R is much greater
than the distance between the slits d, the lines from the two slits are
very nearly parallel when they strike the screen.
The difference in path length is given by

r2 – r1 = d sin

where  is the angle between the line from the slits to screen
and the normal to the plane of the slits.
The bright regions on the screen occur at

d sin = m
(m = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)
The dark regions on the screen occur at

d sin = (m + ½) 

(m = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)

DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE PATTERN

Bright Fringes

3rd order
2nd order bright fringe
bright fringe m = +3
m = +2
1st order bright fringe m = +1
c.b.f m = 0
1st order bright fringe m = -1
2nd order
bright fringe
m=-2 3rd order
bright fringe
m = -3
 DOUBLE-SLIT INTERFERENCE PATTERN

Dark Fringes

3rd dark fringe

above cbf m = +2

2nd dark fringe 1st dark fringe

above cbf m = + 1 above cbf m = 0

2nd dark fringe 1st dark fringe

below cbf m = - 1 below cbf m = 0

3rd dark fringe

below cbf m = -2
Position of Bright Fringes:
d sin = m

sin = m/d

For very small values of : sin = tan  = y / R

R
m 
ym (m = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)
d

Position of Dark Fringes:

 1
 m  
ym  R  2 (m = 0, ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)
d
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 1
EXAMPLE 2
EXAMPLE 2

Locations of greatest intensity:

Locations of least intensity:

EXAMPLE 3

2nd dark line: m = 1

(1.5 )λ ( 1.5 )500 nm

y2 = R = 0.75 m = 1.25 mm
d 0.45 mm
3rd dark line: m = 2

(2.5 )λ ( 2.5 )500 nm

y3 = R = 0.75 m = 2.08 mm
d 0.45 mm

y3 - y2  0.83mm
EXAMPLE 4

(a) 1st dark line above CBF: m = 0

y1 R
0.5
 4.00m
(0.5)400nm
 4.00mm
d 0.200mm
1st dark line below CBF: m = 0

y1 R
 0.5
 (4.00m)
(0.5)400nm
 4.00mm
d 0.200mm

y1  y1  8.00mm
EXAMPLE 4

(b) The 1st order bright fringe is between the 1st and second dark lines

(0.5)400nm
y1  (4.00m)  4.00mm
0.200mm
(1.5)400nm
y2  (4.00m)  12mm
0.200mm

y2  y1  8.00mm
EXAMPLE 5

For red: m =1

(1)660nm
y1red  (5.00m)  11.0mm
0.300mm
For blue: m =1

( 1)470 nm
y1blue = ( 5.00 m) = 7.83 mm
0.300 mm

y1red - y1blue  3.17 mm

EXAMPLE 6

ANSWERS: d sin  0.0116mm

m   19.82
(a) 39 bright fringes  585nm
(b) ±73.4o 19(585nm)
  sin 1
 73.4o
0.0116mm
EXAMPLE 7

Two speakers, A and B, are 4.00 m apart and are

emitting identical in-phase sound waves. The speed of
sound in air is 340 m/s. Consider a line which is the
perpendicular bisector of the line connecting the two
speakers. The first interference maximum occurs at
±25.15o from this line.
(a) What is the frequency of the sound emitted?
(b) Find the rest of the angles where constructive and
destructive interference occur.
(c) If the speakers are aboard a pick-up truck that is
traveling at 20 m/s, at what angles from the central
line will the two first interference maxima occur (in
front of the truck and behind the truck)?
 Diffraction
Diffraction refers to various phenomena which occur when a wave
encounters an obstacle.
It is described as the apparent bending of waves around small
obstacles and the spreading out of waves past small openings.
 When a monochromatic light strikes a barrier that has an aperture
or edge, interference patterns are formed. This is called diffraction.

Huygen’s Principle:
Every point on a wave
front can be considered as the
source of secondary wavelets that
spread out in all directions with a
speed equal to the speed of
propagation of the wave.
Fraunhofer Diffraction – when both source and screen are far
enough from the obstacle such that all rays coming from the
source to the obstacle and all rays coming from the obstacle to the
source may be considered parallel.
SINGLE-SLIT DIFFRACTION
Consider a monochromatic light shining on a single slit of width
a and let a screen be at a certain distance x from the slit.
 Consider two strips in the slit,
one just below the top edge of the slit
and one at the center.
The path difference to point P
is
(a/2) sin 

where a is the slit width and  is the

angle between the normal to the slit
and the line from center of slit to P.

If this path difference is equal to /2, then light from the two
strips arrive at point P half wavelength apart – destructive interference –
resulting in a dark fringe.
 Light from every strip in the
top half of the slit cancels out the
corresponding light at the bottom half
of the slit.
Destructive interference (dark
fringes) occur whenever

(a/2) sin  = ± (/2)

or
sin  = /a

The ± sign means that there

are symmetrical dark fringes above
and below point O.
 The upper fringe, >0,
occurs at point P where light from the
bottom half of the slit travels /2
farther to P than does light from the
top half.
The lower fringe, <0,
occurs at point P where light from the
top half of the slit travels /2 farther
to P than does light from the bottom
half.

The slit may also be divided into quarters, sixths, and so on to

show that a dark fringe occurs whenever

2 3 4
sin    , , ,...
a a a
Position of Dark Fringes in Single-Slit Diffraction:

sin = (m) / a

(m = ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)

For very small values of : sin = tan  = y / x

ym = x (m/a)

(m = ±1, ±2, ±3, ...)

 SINGLE-SLIT
Positions of Dark Fringes
DIFFRACTION PATTERN

m
sin  
a
3rd dark fringe m = +3
m
ym  x 2nd dark fringe m = +2
a 1st dark fringe m = +1
m  1,2,3,... c.b.f
1st dark fringe m = -1
Positions of Bright Fringes
2nd dark fringe m = -2

ym x
m   1
2
3rd dark fringe m = -3

a
EXAMPLE 7
EXAMPLE 7
EXAMPLE 8
EXAMPLE 8
EXAMPLE 9
EXAMPLE 9
EXAMPLE 10

Coherent light that contains two wavelengths 670 nm (red) and 470 nm
(blue) passes through two parallel slits separated by 0.60 mm. The
interference pattern is observed on a screen 90.0 cm from the slits. In
the resulting interference pattern, find the distance between the 3rd
bright fringe above the central bright fringe for red and the 3rd dark
fringe below the central bright fringe for blue.

3rd BF above m (3)(670nm)

CBF for red: y3 BFred  R  0.900m  3.02 mm
d 0.60mm

3rd DF below
y3DFblue R
m  12 
 0.900m
(2.5)(470nm)
 1.76 mm
CBF for blue:
d 0.60mm

y3BFred  y3DFblue  3.02mm  (1.76mm)  4.78 mm

EXAMPLE 11
Coherent light of diffraction interference
pattern pattern
wavelength 670 nm
passes through two
parallel slits separated
by 0.36 mm. The 1st dark
1st missing
bright
interference pattern is fringe
fringe
observed on a screen
1.20 m from the slits. If
the width of each slit is cbf cbf

0.12 mm, (a) what is the

order of the first bright 1st missing
fringe missing from the 1st dark bright
fringe
pattern? (b)how far from fringe

the cbf is this missing

fringe?

An interference fringe will “disappear” from an interference pattern

when it coincides with a diffraction dark fringe.
 EXAMPLE 11
diffraction interference
(a) ymD  ymI pattern pattern

mD  mI  mI d
x R 
mD a ymD ymI
a d

d 0.36mm
mI  mD  (1) 3 cbf cbf
a 0.12mm
The 3rd order bright fringe is missing
from the pattern. 1st missing
1st dark bright
fringe fringe

(3)(670nm)
(b) ymI  1.20m  6.7 mm
0.36mm