Cambridge (CIE) AS Your notes

Physics
Interference
Contents
Interference & Coherence
Two Source Interference
Young's Double Slit Experiment

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 Interference & Coherence
Your notes

Interference & coherence

Interference
Interference occurs when waves overlap and their resultant displacement is the sum of
the displacement of each wave
This result is based on the principle of superposition and the resultant waves may be
smaller or larger than either of the two individual waves
Interference of two waves can either be:
In phase, causing constructive interference. The peaks and troughs line up on both
waves. The resultant wave has double the amplitude
In anti-phase, causing destructive interference. The peaks on one wave line up
with the troughs of the other. The resultant wave has no amplitude

Constructive and destructive interference

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 Waves in superposition can undergo constructive or destructive interference
Conditions for constructive and destructive interference Your notes
In general, for waves emitted by two coherent sources very close together:
The condition for constructive interference is:

path difference = nλ

The condition for destructive interference is:

1 ⎞⎟
⎛
path difference = ⎜⎜n + 2⎠
⎟λ

Where:
λ = wavelength of the waves in metres (m)

n = 0, 1, 2, 3... (any other integer)

Coherence
At points where the two waves are neither in phase nor in antiphase, the resultant
amplitude is somewhere in between the two extremes
Waves are coherent if they have the same frequency and constant phase difference

Coherent vs. incoherent waves

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Coherent v non-coherent wave. The abrupt change in phase creates an inconsistent
phase difference
Your notes

Coherence is vital in order to produce an observable interference pattern

Laser light is an example of a coherent light source, whereas filament lamps produce
incoherent light waves

Worked Example
The diagram shows the interferences of coherent waves from two point sources.

Which row in the table correctly identifies the type of interference at points X, Y and Z.

X Y Z

A Constructive Destructive Constructive

B Constructive Constructive Destructive

C Destructive Constructive Destructive

D Destructive Constructive Constructive

Answer: B
At point X:
Both peaks of the waves are overlapping. This is constructive interference
and rules out options C and D
At point Y:
Both troughs are overlapping so constructive interference occurs there
At point Z:

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 A peak of one of the waves meets the trough of the other. This is destructive
interference (Row B)
Your notes

Examiner Tips and Tricks

Think of ‘constructive’ interference as ‘building’ the wave and ‘destructive’
interference as ‘destroying’ the wave.

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 Two Source Interference
Your notes

Demonstrating two source interference

Two source interference can be demonstrated using
water waves in a ripple tank
sound
light
microwaves

Using water waves

Two-source interference in can be demonstrated in water using ripple tanks
A curved line represents each wavefront (peak or trough)
The diagram below shows the wavefronts from two point sources e.g. dropping two
pebbles near to each other in a pond

Wavefront interference

At the blue dot where the peak of two waves meet, constructive interference occurs. At
the yellow dot where two troughs meet, constructive interference also occurs.
Constructive interference occurs along the lines of maximum displacement. At the green
dot, where a peak and a trough meet, destructive interference occurs

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 The lines of maximum displacement occur when all the peaks and troughs line up with
those on another wave
Your notes
On a wavefront diagram, it is possible to count the number of wavelengths to determine
whether constructive or destructive interference occurs at a certain point

At point P the waves from S1 and S2 have a path difference of a whole number of
wavelengths, resulting in constructive interference
At point P, the number of crests from:
Source S1 = 4λ
Source S2 = 6λ
So the path difference at P is 6λ – 4λ = 2λ
This is a whole number of wavelengths, hence, constructive interference occurs at
point P

Using sound waves

Two-source interference can be demonstrated with two speakers emitting a coherent
sound

Sound wave interference

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 Your notes

Sound wave interference from two speakers

Sound waves are longitudinal waves made up of compressions and rarefactions
Constructive interference occurs when the compressions and rarefactions from
each wave line up and the sound appears louder
Destructive interference occurs when a compression from one wave lines up with a
rarefaction from the other and vice versa. The two waves cancel each other out,
so zero sound is heard.
This is the technology used in noise-cancelling headphones

Using microwaves
Two-source interference for microwaves (and other electromagnetic waves) can be
detected with a moveable microwave detector

Microwave interference experiment

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 Your notes

Microwave interference experiment

The detector picks up a maximum amplitude or intensity in regions of constructive

interference
The detector picks up a minimum or zero amplitude, so no signal in regions
of destructive interference

Using light waves

Lasers are the ideal piece of equipment to analyse diffraction and intensity patterns
The diffraction pattern produced by a laser on a screen is made up of:
Areas of constructive interference - the bright strips or fringes
Areas of destructive interference - the dark fringes

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 Your notes

The constructive and destructive interference of laser light through a double slit creates
bright and dark strips called fringes on a screen placed far away

Two source interference fringes

For two-source interference fringes to be observed, the sources of the wave must be:
Coherent (constant phase difference)
Monochromatic (single wavelength)
A laser is an example of a coherent monochromatic light source
Other sources of light, such as a filament bulb or a sodium lamp, are non-coherent,
so they produce white light

A laser beam

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 Your notes

A laser produces a beam of coherent monochromatic light

When two waves interfere, the resultant wave depends on the phase difference
between the two waves
Phase difference is proportional to the path difference between the waves which can
be written in terms of the wavelength λ of the wave
As seen from the diagram below, the wave from slit S2 has to travel slightly further than
that from S1 to reach the same point on the screen.
The difference in distance is the path difference

Path difference for constructive and destructive

interference

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 Your notes

Path difference for constructive and destructive interference is determined by

wavelength

Remember, the conditions for Constructive and destructive interference:

For constructive interference (or maxima), the difference in wavelengths will be an
integer number of whole wavelengths
For destructive interference (or minima) it will be an integer number of whole
wavelengths plus a half wavelength
An example of the orders of maxima is shown below:
n is the order of the maxima/minima since there is usually more than one of these
produced by the interference pattern

Double slit interference pattern

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 Your notes

Interference pattern of light waves shown with orders of maxima

n = 0 is taken from the middle, n = 1 is one either side and so on

Worked Example
Two coherent sources of sound waves S1 and S2 are situated 65 cm apart in air as
shown below.

The two sources vibrate in phase but have different amplitudes of vibration. A
microphone M is situated 150 cm from S1 along the line normal to S1 and S2.
The microphone detects maxima and minima of the intensity of the sound. The
wavelength of the sound from S1 to S2 is decreased by increasing the frequency.
Determine which orders of maxima are detected at M as the wavelength is increased
from 3.5 cm to 12.5 cm.
Answer:
Step 1: Calculate the path difference

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 Using Pythagoras' theorem, the distance from source S2 to the microphone is:
652 + 1502 = 163 Your notes
Therefore, the path difference between the sources and the microphone is:
Path difference = 163 −150 13 cm =
Step 2: State the path difference for constructive interference
Path difference = nλ
n = 0, 1, 2, 3...
Step 3: Determine the wavelength
Path difference = nλ = 13 cm
n =0⇒λ=0
13
n =1 ⇒λ= 1
= 13 cm
13
n =2 ⇒λ= 2
= 6 . 5 cm
13
n =3 ⇒λ= 3
= 4 . 3 cm
13
n =4 ⇒λ= 4
= 3 . 3 cm
Only orders n = 2 and n = 3 are within the wavelength range of 3.5 cm to 12.5 cm
Therefore, n = 2 and n = 3 are the orders where the maxima are detected

Examiner Tips and Tricks

The path difference is more specifically how much longer, or shorter, one path is than
the other. In other words, the difference in the distances. Make sure not to confuse
this with the distance between the two paths.

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 Young's Double Slit Experiment
Your notes

Double slit interference

Young's double-slit experiment produces a diffraction and an interference
pattern using either:
The interference of two coherent wave sources
A single wave source passing through a double slit
In this typical set-up for Young's double slit experiment:
The laser light source is placed behind the single slit
So the light is diffracted, producing two light sources at slits A and B
The light from the double slits is then diffracted, producing a diffraction
pattern made up of bright and dark fringes on a screen

Young's double slit experiment

Young’s double-slit experiment arrangement creates an interference pattern when light

is passed through slits A and B
Calculations can be made for the double slit interference of light using the equation:

ax
λ = D

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 Where:
λ = wavelength of source (m) Your notes
a = distance between the centres of the slit (m)
x = fringe width (distance between successive bright fringes) (m)
D = distance between the slits and the screen (m)
Quantities for double slit interference equation

Double slit interference equation with a, x and D represented on a diagram

In this experiment:

D is much bigger than any other dimension, normally several metres long
a is the separation between the two slits and is often the smallest dimension,
normally in mm

x is the distance between the fringes on the screen, often in cm. This can be
obtained by measuring the distance between the centre of each consecutive bright
spot.

The above equation shows that the separation a between the fringes will increase if:

the wavelength λ of the incident light increases

the distance D between the screen and the slits increases

the separation x between the slits decreases

Worked Example
A laser is placed in front of a double-slit as shown in the diagram below.

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 Your notes

The laser emits light of frequency 750 THz. The separation of the maxima P and Q
observed on the screen is 15 mm. The distance between the double slit and the
screen is 4.5 m.
Calculate the separation of the two slits.
Answer:
Step 1: Calculate the wavelength of the light

c = fλ
Step 2: Rearrange for λ and substitute in values

c 3 × 108
λ = f
= 750 × 1012 = 4 × 10−7 = 400 nm
Step 3: State the double slit equation

ax
λ = D
Step 4: Determine the distance between fringes
From the diagram, there are 9 bright fringes between maxima P and Q
Since the distance between P and Q is 15 mm, the distance between each fringe
is:
15 × 10−3
x = 9
= 1 . 667 × 10−3 m
Step 5: Rearrange the equation and substitute in the known values to calculate

λD 4 × 10−7 × 4 . 5
= = = 1 . 08 × 10−3 = 1 . 1 mm 2 s. f
( )

a
x 1 . 667 × 10−3
( )

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Examiner Tips and Tricks
Since a, x and D are all distances, it's easy to mix up which they refer to. Labelling the Your notes
double slit diagram in the way given in the notes above will help to remember the
order i.e. a and x in the numerator and D underneath in the denominator.

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