1. What are coherent sources?

Ans : Two sources are said to be coherent if they emit light of same amplitude and frequency and they are always in phase or there is a constant phase differences between them. In actual practice, it is not possible to have coherent sources but for experimental purposes, two virtual images of the same sources (Fresnels biprism) or a source and its reflected image (LIoyds mirror) can act as coherent sources. 2. Explain why two independent sources of light of the same wavelength cannot produce observable interference pattern? Ans : The two independent sources of light cannot produce sustained interference because they are not coherent (Vibrating in the same phase ) or the atoms emitting light in the two sources are independent of one another.
3. Outline the various methods of obtaining coherent sources?

Ans : The following are some devices for obtaining coherent sources: (a) Youngs slit, (b) LIoyds mirror, (c) Fresnels double mirror, (d) Fresnels biprism (e) Michelsons interferometer, (f) Lasers.
1. In Young s double slit experiment, the monochromatic source of light

is replaced by white light source. Trains central fringe would be white or dark. Ans : The central fringe will be white because the central fringe corresponds to zero path difference for two wave trains . This is true for all wavelengths.
2. What happens to the interference pattern when entire arrangement of

double slit experiment is dipped in water? Ans : The fringes will become narrower because in water the wavelength decreases and hence fringe width. ( = D/ 2d ) decreases. 3. What will be the effect on interference fringes obtained in youngs double slit experiment if (i) One slit is covered, (ii) a source of light of higher wavelength is used,

(iii) Distance between two slits be increased to one cm, (iv) distance between Screen and double slit is increased. Ans : We know that = D/ 2d. (i) The interference pattern will be replaced by diffraction due to a single slit. (ii) The fringe width will increase. (iii) The fringes will disappear and there will be uniform illumination. (iv) The fringe width will increase.

4. Explain what happens when

(i)
(ii)

White light is used to illuminate the slit and We width of the slit is increased continuously in Fresnels biprism Experiment.

Ans : (i) In this case , the interference pattern consists of a central white fringe having few coloured fringes on both sides and then a general illumination . (ii) in this case, the intensity in the fringe maxima reduces and that in the fringe minima increases i.e., the contrast between the bright and dark fringes decreases. When the width of the slit becomes equal to half the fringe width, the fringes disappear. Now there is uniform illumination.
1. Why colours are not observed in reflected light from a thick film?

Ans : For a thick film, the path difference at any point of the film will be large. Now the same point will have maximum intensity for a large number of wave lengths and at the same time minimum intensity for another large number of wave lengths. Moreover , the number of wavelengths sending maximum intensity at that point will be almost equal to the number of the wavelength sending maximum intensity . The mixing of these gives a resulting impression of very nearly white. Due to the overlapping of maxima of the visible part of the spectrum, no colour is observed. Thus thicker films do not ordinarily show any light.
2. Why an excessively thin film does appear to be dark in the reflected

light? Ans: The path difference between the rays reflected at the two surfaces of the film is given by 2 t cos r + /2. If t is very small compared to , then the path difference will be /2 because 2 t cos r

can be neglected in comparison to . Path difference /2 responds to the condition for darkness. Hence when the thickness of the film is very small as compared to wavelength of light used, the film appears totally dark. 3. What happens to the ring system if a plane polished mirror is used instead of a glass plate in Newtons ring arrangement? Ans: The rings appear and we get uniform illumination. The reason is that the amplitude of the ray reflected from the plane mirror is considerably greater than the amplitude of the ray reflected from the upper surface of air film. Due to the large difference between these two amplitudes, the contrast between dark and bright rings becomes very weak and the ring system cannot be distinguished.

4. Why is the central spot in Newtons rings seen in reflected light dark?

Discuss the appearance of Newtons rings in transmitted light. Ans: In Newtons ring arrangement the thickness of air film at the point of contact is zero i.e., there is no path difference between the rays reflected from the upper and lower surfaces of the air film. But a phase change of is introduced when the ray is reflected from lower surface of air film because this surface is backed by denser medium. Hence the central fringe appears dark. In the transmitted light one ray is reflected twice at the boundary of denser medium and hence the phase reversal gets cancelled. So the central fringe appears to be bright. It should be remembered that (i)The rings seen are reflected light are exactly complimentary to those seen in transmitted light. (ii)The rings seen is reflected light are much poorer than those in reflected light. 5. What will happen if a little water is introduced between the lens and the glass plate of Newtons ring experiment? Ans : (a) Greater will be the value of R , greater will be the diameter of a ring. The facilitates the accurate measurement of the diameter. (a) The diameter of a ring is a function of wavelength. When white light is used, there will be superposition of the rings formed by different wave lengths. So few coloured rings near the center are formed, of course, the center is dark.

(b) When a little water is introduced between the lens and the

glass plate, the rings contract according to the relation.

Diameter of the ring in water filmDiameter of the ring in air film = 1

Where is refractive index of water

1. (a). Explain briefly why the fringes in Newtons ring arrangement are

circular and in an air wedge are straight parallel. (b). State giving reason, what change do you expect in Newtons ring if the distance between lens and plate is increased. Ans: (a). In both the cases, each fringe is the locus of points of equal thickness of film. In Newtons ring arrangement, the point of equal thickness of film lie on circles with the point of contact. Hence the fringes are concentric circles. On the other hand, in case of wedge shaped air film, the locus of equal thickness are straight lines parallel to the edge of the wedge. Hence the fringes are straight and parallel. (b). When the distance between the plate and lens is increased, the order of the ring at a given point increases. So the rings come closer and closer until they are separately observed.

14. DIFFERENCE BETWEEN INTERFERENCE AND DIFFRACTION Following are the differences between interference and diffraction phenomena: (1). In the phenomenon of interference, the interaction takes places between two separate wave fronts originating from the two coherent sources while in the phenomenon of diffraction the interaction takes place between the secondary wavelets originating from different points of the exposed parts of the same wave front. (2). In the interference pattern the regions of minimum intensity are usually almost perfectly dark while it is not so in diffraction pattern. (3). The width of the fringes in interference may or may not be equal or uniform while in diffraction pattern fringe width of various fringes are never equal. (4). In an interference pattern all the maxima are of same intensity but in diffraction pattern they are of varying intensity.

15. Distinguish between single slit and double slit diffraction patterns.

Ans: (1). The Fraunhofer diffraction pattern due to a single slit consists of a bright central maximum with subsidiary maxima of decreasing intensity having minima in between them. On the other hand, the double slit diffraction pattern have equally spaced interference maxima and minima inside the central maximum. (2). The intensity of central maximum of double slit diffraction pattern is four times the intensity due to central maximum of single slit pattern. (3). In single slit pattern, the distance between the maxima depends on the width of the slit. In case of double slit pattern, the spacing between diffraction maxima or minima depends upon the width e while the distance between the interference fringes depends on both e and d. 16. Explain the effect of the closeness of rulings (or increase in number of lines) and the width of the ruled space on the grating spectrum. Ans: When the numbers of lines are increased, the grating element becomes smaller. The dispersive power is given by
dd=ne+dcos

Hence dispersive power will increase i.e., the angular spacing between maxima of two wavelengths will become large. The angular half width of principal maxima is given by
dn=Ne+dcosn

Here N ( e + d ) = total width of the ruled surface. Hence larger is the width of the ruled surfaced, smaller is the angular half width dn i.e., sharper are the maxima. 17.In what respects does the prismatic spectrum differ from the grating spectrum? Ans: (1). The prism forms only one spectrum while a grating forms a number of spectra of different orders. (2). The prism spectrum is formed due to dispersion of light while the grating spectrum is formed by diffraction. (3). The spectrum formed by prism is very bright because the light is distributed only in one spectrum. On the other hand, the grating

spectra are much fainter as 80% of light goes to zero order maximum and rest is distributed among different orders. (4). The spectrum formed by the prism depends on the material of the prism. The grating spectra is independent of the material of the grating. (5). In case of prism, the spectral colours are in the order from red to violet while in case of grating the colours are in the order violet to red. (6). The spectrum is much more drawn out at violet end in case of prism spectrum due dispersive power while the red part of the spectrum is more drawn out in grating spectra due to dispersive power. (7). The resolving power of prism is small while the resolving power of grating is high. (8). The prismatic spectrum is free from false lines (Ghosts lines) while grating spectra contain such lines.
18. (a).What are the advantages of increasing the number of rulings in a

grating? (b). Two plane diffraction grating A and B have same width of ruled surface but A has greater number of lines than B. Compare intensity of fringes, width of principal maximum and dispersive powers in the two cases. Ans: (a).(i)The principal maxima become intense and sharp. (ii)The secondary maxima become weaker. (b). We know that the intensity of principal maxima is proportional to the square of the number of lines ( N2 ) on the grating. So intensity of fringes of grating A is greater than that of grating B. The angular half width of principal maxima is inversely proportional to the total width of ruled surface. Hence the width of principal maxima is same for the both gratings. The dispersive power is inversely proportional to the grating element ( e + d ). The grating element for grating A is smaller than grating B because grating A has greater number of lines on the same ruled width (i.e., its e is smaller). Hence the dispersive power of grating A is greater than grating B.
19. Mention few application of polarised light.

Ans : (i) To estimate sugar in solution,

(ii) In geological laboratory (polarised light is used to study the structure of specimens), (iii)In textile and silk industries, (iv)To eliminate glare in wind screens of motor vehicles, (v)In photography to supress unwanted brilliancy, (vi) In examining the surface condition of the skin, (vii)To study strain in optical glass and in engineering to study strains in structures,