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Wave Phenomena

INTERFERENCE PATTERN OF WATER WAVES

DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT OFF A COMPACT DISC

Constructive and Destructive Interference

Constructive interference produces maxima, where crests meet crests and troughs meet troughs to produce larger waves by superposition. For example, light wave maxima are bright, sound waves maxima are loud, water waves maxima are tall, etc. click for applet Destructive interference produces minima, where wave crests meet wave troughs cancel out by superposition For example, light wave minima are dark, sound waves minima are quiet, water wave minima are small, etc. Waves from two sources combine constructively and destructively in click for applet space to form an interference pattern. Compare this to waves that interfere in time to form a beat pattern.

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Equations for Interference Maxima and Minima

min m = 1 max m = 1 d

Honors only

min m = 0 max m = 0 min m = 0 max m = 1 min m = 1

path lengths to a distant point on the interference pattern path length difference

wave sources

INTERFERENCE MAXIMA

If the path length difference to any point is an integer multiple of the wavelength, then constructive interference will create a maximum

INTERFERENCE MINIMA

If the path length difference to any point is halfway between an integer multiple of the wavelength, then destructive interference will create a minimum

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Wave Reection

RAYS VERSUS WAVES LAW OF REFLECTION FOR WAVES click for applet

WAVES MAKE REAL AND VIRTUAL IMAGES

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Wave Refraction

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Huygens Principle
Dutch scientist Christiaan Huygens, a contemporary of Sir Isaac Newton, develops a wave theory in 1670 that went unnoticed for over a century The theory (Huygens Principle) explains wave reection and refraction, but also explains a new wave behavior called diffraction.

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Every point on a wave-front is considered a source of secondary

spherical wavelets which spread out in the forward direction. The new wave-front is the boundary to all these secondary wavelets.

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Diffraction of Waves
Diffraction is the bending of waves around a barrier or through an opening. Waves with longer wavelengths (lower frequency) diffract more.
applet Diffraction is apparent when waves pass through a gap of width similar to the wavelength. click for applet Radio and TV signals diffract around buildings and mountains, yielding better reception (more diffraction) for larger wavelengths. click for

Sound diffracts around corners and through small openings. Large wavelength (low frequency) sound waves diffract more. Diffraction is a wave behavior. Particles dont diffract (although quantum physics predicts particle diffraction).

Single Slit Diffraction

Light waves diffract when emitted through a tiny opening (slit) and create a diffraction pattern. The slit must be close to the wavelength 10-7 meters! Light waves from different portions of a single slit will constructively and destructively interfere and cause maxima and minima (light/dark fringes). Single slits produce a bright, wide central maximum and other weaker, more narrow maxima.
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INTERFERENCE MINIMA

LIGHT ENTERING SINGLE SLIT

SINGLE SLIT DIFFRATION PATTERN

If the path length difference to any point is halfway between an integer multiple of the wavelength, then destructive interference will create a minimum

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Double Slit Diffraction

In 1801, Thomas Young proved light is a wave by creating an interference pattern for for light passing through two small slits. click applet In the experiment, light passes through a single slit rst to keep waves in phase. click for Double slits produce a bright central maximum and other strong maxima. The equations for maximum and minima are the same for all interference patterns.
LIGHT ENTERING DOUBLE SLIT

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Example: The distance between the two small openings (slits) that allow light through an opaque surface and onto a viewing screen is 0.03 mm. The second-order bright fringe (maximum) is measuring at an angle of 2.15 What is the wavelength of the light?

DOUBLE SLIT DIFFRATION

Diffraction Grating
When more slits are added the interference pattern gets clearer, with brighter, and more distinct maxima A CD or DVD acts like a diffraction grating because small pits are etched into the surface, and when light reects off small areas in between the pits it interferes in the same way that light interferes when emitted through small slits.
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5 SLIT VS. DOUBLE SLIT

A diffraction grating is also used in a CD player to create a three-beam laser tracking system Crystalline solids are natural diffraction gratings with atoms spaced about 10-10 meters, so that X-rays have wavelengths to show diffraction patterns. Watson and Crick (1953) used X-ray diffraction to discover the double helix structure of DNA

SODIUM CHLORIDE

CD TRACKING LASER

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Resolution
Resolving power is the ability of an optical instrument to separate two images that are close together.

CAR HEADLIGHTS RESOLUTION

Diffraction limits resolving power. Resolution is evidence that light is a wave. Shorter wavelength increases resolving power, so blue light is often used for microscope illumination. EM waves with large wavelengths (like radio waves) require large resolving instruments.

Polarization of Light
Light is a transverse wave composed of alternating electric and magnetic elds . Electric eld Magnetic eld

Polarization is the oscillation of a transverse wave in only one plane.

Polarized lters
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Reection
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Double Refraction
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Thin Film Interference

Most thin lms like soap bubbles and oil slicks will produce colorful arrays caused by constructive interference of light waves. The conditions for interference depends on: 1. The index of refraction of the lm and the surrounding media. 2. The thickness of the lm. Film surround by media of lower index of refraction Film thickness must be /4, 3/4, 5/4, 7/4 for constructive interference. Film surrounded by media of lower index on one side, higher index on the other Film thickness must be /2, , 3/2, 2 for constructive interference.
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Lasers
Ordinary light is noncoherent (out of phase) varies in intensity, wavelength, and direction. Laser light is monochromatic (one color), coherent (in phase) and unidirectional. Einstein predicted stimulated emission a photon hits an atom already excited by a photon, two identical photons are emitted. Electrical or chemical energy is pumped into atoms to create an active medium such that atoms are already excited. Mirrors are used to cause amplication a domino effect of cascading radiation Light Amplication by Stimulated Emission Radiation exits through a partially transparent mirror. Lasers are widely used in science: - surgery, dermatology, ophthalmology - precision measurements - manufacturing - audio/video technology

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