Class Teacher: Waseem Khaleel, BS & MS

Q) What should I study for the exam/quiz?

1- Any sheet that I send you on JupiterEd

2- All the homework questions about the subject
3- All the examples, problems, and questions in the book (including those in
section review and chapter review)
By doing all of that, you should get an awesome grade!

Chapter 15
Point 1: Diffraction is the bending of light as it goes through a narrow slit or two narrow slits and
then having the waves diverge out of the slit(s), as demonstrated by the scientist Young in his
famous experiment known as the Young’s double-slit experiment. This results in the formation of
bright and dark fringes (bands) on a screen that is placed a distance from the source of light.
Diffraction only happens when light passes through small openings/slits. The smaller the slit, the
larger the diffraction pattern and the more spread out bands become:

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𝑆𝑙𝑖𝑡 𝑤𝑖𝑑𝑡ℎ ∝
𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛

Additionally, the smaller the distance between the slits, the larger the interference pattern:

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𝐷𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑡𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑛 𝑠𝑙𝑖𝑡𝑠 (𝑑) ∝
𝑠𝑖𝑧𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑓𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑐𝑒 𝑝𝑎𝑡𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑛

*** NOTE: Diffraction is always accompanied by interference.

Q) What is the condition for waves to interfere with each other?

Answer: They must have the same wavelength.

Constructive Interference: When crest meets crest or trough meets trough. The resultant
wave should have a larger amplitude (displacement) than both waves. It results in bright
fringes/bands on a screen.

Destructive Interference: When crest meets trough. The resultant wave should have a zero
amplitude (displacement) during the point of overlap. It results in dark fringes/bands on a screen.

*** NOTE: Two waves can only interfere if they have the same wavelength.

Point 2: A bright fringe is also called a maximum and a dark fringe is also called a minimum.

Coherent waves: Phase difference between the waves is constant (always crest meets crest, or
always crest meets trough, or always trough meets trough). These waves must come from a
coherent source of waves, which is monochromatic light (light with a single wavelength). This would
be laser.

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Incoherent light source: Place two light bulbs next to each other. No interference is observed
because light waves from one bulb are emitted independently of light waves of the other bulb. This
means the phase difference between the light waves is not constant. There is interference but no
single interference pattern. We have incoherent light sources here.

Q) Compare light from a laser to light from an incandescent lamp.

Laser Light Incandescent Lamp Light

One wavelength (monochromatic) Many wavelengths

Coherent light source so emits waves whose Incoherent light source so emits waves whose
phase difference is constant and the waves phase difference changes over time, and the
don’t shift relative to each other with time waves shift relative to each other

Can be used to make a clear interference Won’t result in an interference pattern because
pattern on a screen by passing it through narrow it is composed of many wavelengths and also
slits, and can form bright and dark bands on a because the waves in it are incoherent
screen

Getting Bright and Dark Fringes (Interference Pattern): Pass light from a single light source
through a narrow slit and then through two narrow slits. The slits serve as a pair of coherent light
sources. Why? The waves emerging from them come from the same source. Now say you use
monochromatic light as the light source. Expect to get bright and dark bands, a series of them (also
known as fringes), on a screen. You won’t get the fringes forming on the screen if you didn’t use a
monochromatic light.

Upon constructive interference between the two light waves, you should get a bright fringe. A dark
fringe happens due to destructive interference.

Q) What is the importance of the Young’s double-slit experiment?

Answer: It demonstrated that light is a wave because only waves can undergo diffraction and
interference.

Constructive interference equation:

𝑑 sin 𝜃 = 𝑚𝜆

- 𝑑 is distance between the slits (measured in m)

- 𝜃 is the angle (measured in degrees)
- 𝑚 is the order number. It has the following values:

A. 𝑚 = 0 is the zeroth order for the central maximum (brightest band, in the center
of the screen)
B. 𝑚 = 1 is the first bright fringe
C. 𝑚 = 2 is the second bright fringe, etc.

- 𝜆 is the wavelength (measured in m)

*** NOTE: Bright band = bright fringe = maximum.

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Destructive interference equation:

1
𝑑 sin 𝜃 = B𝑚 + D 𝜆
2

- 𝑑 is distance between the slits (measured in m)

- 𝜃 is the angle (measured in degrees)
- 𝑚 is the order number. It has the following values:

D. 𝑚 = 0 is the first dark fringe

E. 𝑚 = 1 is the second dark fringe
F. 𝑚 = 2 is the third dark fringe, etc.

*** NOTE: Dark band = dark fringe = minimum.

Q) What would happen to the interference pattern if light waves travel in straight lines, instead
of traveling in all directions?

Answer: The interference pattern that was mentioned earlier is due to light NOT traveling in straight
lines. If light did actually travel in straight lines, you would then see two thin strips of light where each
slit and source were lined up, and that’s it. No interference pattern and none of the bright and dark
fringes.

If the path difference equals a whole-number multiple of wavelengths, like 0𝜆, 1𝜆, 2𝜆, 3𝜆, etc., a bright
fringe should be observed. BUT, if the path difference is one-half multiples of wavelength, like
G I J
H
𝜆, H 𝜆, H 𝜆, etc., then we have destructive interference and we will get dark fringes.

Say you want to find the magnitude of the angle, and you just obtained 𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃, then you must do
inverse sine (in the calculator) and get the value of the angle.

Q) Compare bright bands to dark bands.

Answer:

Bright Bands Dark Bands

Also called bright fringes or maxima Also called dark fringes or minima

Result of constructive interference Result of destructive interference

Crest meets crest, or trough meets trough Crest meets trough

Phase difference between interfering waves is Phase difference between interfering waves is
K
zero degrees 180 degrees, or H

Path difference between the two interfering Path difference between the two interfering
waves is either zero or whole-number multiple of waves is an odd multiple of 1/2 𝜆
the wavelength

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 Equation is 𝑑 sin 𝜃 = 𝑚𝜆 G
Equation is 𝑑 sin 𝜃 = L𝑚 + HM 𝜆

𝑚 = 0 → 𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑟𝑎𝑙 𝑚𝑎𝑥𝑖𝑚𝑢𝑚 𝑚 = 0 → 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑

𝑚 = 1 → 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚 = 1 → 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑
𝑚 = 2 → 𝑠𝑒𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑑 𝑏𝑟𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑚 = 2 → 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑟𝑑 𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑘 𝑏𝑎𝑛𝑑
etc. etc.

Q) The information mentioned above was the diffraction pattern for light going through two
slits. How about light going through one slit?

Answer: The diffraction pattern should be made of a broad, intense central band – known as central
maximum – flanked by a series of narrower, less intense secondary bands (called secondary
maxima), and a series of dark bands (or minima). The central maximum is brighter and twice the
width as the next brightest maximum.

Q) Compare the interference pattern from one slit vs. double-slit.

Answer:

Single-Slit Double-Slit

Less bands form on the screen More bands form on the screen

Less size of the interference pattern More size of the interference pattern

Central maximum is much brighter than the one Central maximum is less bright than the one
formed from the double-slit formed from the single-slit experiment

Important Conversions:

1) 𝑚 ∗ 10T = 𝑛𝑚

2) 𝑚 ∗ 10I = 𝑚𝑚

3) 𝑚 ∗ 10H = 𝑐𝑚

Constructive Interference by a CD: You should see streaks of color on the CD. They are the result
of constructive interference due to light waves getting reflected and interfering at the closely spaced
rows in a CD that act like slits, but without causing destructive interference. Different colors are due
to different wavelengths.

Diffraction Grating: These are devices that have hundreds of thousands of lines in a meter, and
these lines are so small and closely spaced that they result in constructive interference. They have
the same equation we used earlier for the Young’s double-slit work, for constructive interference,
which is 𝑑𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝜃 = 𝑚𝜆. So the waves must travel a whole number of wavelengths before they come
together at a point and interfere.

The distance between slits, 𝑑, can be found by dividing 1 by the number of lines per m (can be in the
hundreds of thousands, and should be provided in the question). The lines are made on a piece of
glass in the diffraction grating devices, using a diamond cutting point:

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 1
𝑑=
𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑠 𝑝𝑒𝑟 𝑚

Q) What is the use of diffraction grating?

Answer: These devices can be used to know the identity of an element by putting them in another
device known as a spectrometer. Say you have a sample of an unknown material and you know to
identify it. You vaporize the sample and place it in a spectrometer. You should see a pattern of lines,
with colors and certain spacing between them. This pattern should be specific to one element only,
and can’t be seen in other elements. For example, the pattern of lines for mercury is not the same as
that for sodium, etc.

Resolving power: This is the ability of an optical device, like a telescope, camera, microscope, or
even the eye, to form separate images of two objects that are close together.

To achieve a higher resolution (or higher resolving power, and more ability to distinguish between
two closely spaced objects), we need the angle between the two resolved objects, 𝜃, which is known
as the resolution angle, to be as small as possible. This is possible by having shorter wavelength or
wider opening (aperture) through which light passes:

𝐴𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 ℎ𝑖𝑔ℎ 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑣𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑝𝑜𝑤𝑒𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑠 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑓 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 (𝜃)

This equation is used to determine the limiting angle of resolution in radians for an optical instrument
with a circular aperture:

1.22 𝜆
𝜃 =
𝐷

- 𝜃 is the resolution angle. The larger it is, the higher the resolving power
- 𝐷 is the aperture width. For visible-light telescopes, this is approximately equal to the
diameter of the mirror or lens
- This equation states that for light with a short wavelength, like X-rays, a small aperture is
sufficient for high resolution. But, if the wavelength of the light is long, as in the case of a
radio wave, the aperture must be larger in order to resolve distant objects. This is one reason
why radio telescopes have large dishlike antennas

However, radio telescopes have a bad image quality if just a single telescope is used. To have the
best quality, we need a dish diameter of several km. This is impossible to achieve in one antenna, so
we can combine several radio telescopes, with the proper computer processing of the images, so
that they will function like a much larger telescope.

Q) How is light of laser different from light from the incandescent light?

Answer: An incandescent light bulb has filaments, and the electromagnetic waves are emitted at
different times from different parts of the filament. The emitted waves have different intensities and
move in different directions. Besides, the emitted light covers a wide range of electromagnetic
spectrum wavelengths. Because so many different wavelengths exist and because the light is
changing almost constantly, the light produced is incoherent. This means that the component
waves don’t maintain a constant phase difference at all times. They don’t produce a stable
interference pattern.

On the other hand, a laser produces coherent light that has a single wavelength (monochromatic).
The waves don’t shift relative to each other with the passage of time. All the waves in a laser are in

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phase at all times so they interfere constructively. As a result, the intensity or brightness of a laser
can be made much greater than that of incoherent light.

In addition, there is something known as the active medium inside the laser. When this active
medium absorbs energy, the atoms in it get excited and produce a coherent light. Of course, this
coherent light is amplified by using mirrors in the inside of the laser, and as the mirrors reflect the
already emitted light into the active medium again, more electrons get excited and produce even
more light. So ultimately an intense coherent light is produced by the laser.

Laser uses: It can be used to measure distances with great precision. Unlike the light from a light
bulb or even the light that is focused by a parabolic reflector, the light from a laser undergoes very
little spreading with distance. One reason is that all the light waves emitted by a laser have the same
direction. As a result, a laser can be used to measure large distances, because it can be pointed at
distant reflectors and the reflected light can be detected.

Lasers can be used to coagulate blood in the newly opened blood vessels, thereby reducing blood
loss and decreasing the risk of infection.

A laser beam can also be trapped in an optical fiber endoscope, which can be inserted through an
orifice and directed to internal body structures. As a result, surgeons can stop internal bleeding or
remove tumors without performing massive surgery.

Lasers can also be used to treat tissues that cannot be reached by conventional surgical methods.
For example, some very specific wavelengths of lasers can pass through certain structures at the
front of the eye – cornea and lens – without damaging them. Therefore, lasers can be effective at
treating lesions of the retina, inside the eye.

Lasers can also be used to correct glaucoma, a condition in which the fluid pressure within the eye is
too great. Left untreated, glaucoma can lead to damage of the optic nerve and eventual blindness.
Focusing a laser at the clogged drainage port allows a tiny hole to be burned in the tissue, which
relieves the pressure.

Lasers can also be used to treat nearsightedness by focusing the beam on the central portion of the
cornea to cause it to become flatter.

Reading information on a compact disk can also be done by using lasers. We can also read bar
codes using laser to know the price of the item.