Problem Set 6
Physics ΙΙΙ , Chapter 41-43
1. An airtight chamber of internal length 𝐿 = 5.00 𝑐𝑚 with glass windows is placed in one arm of a Michelson
interferometer as indicated in the figure. Light of wavelength 𝜆 = 500 𝑛𝑚 is used. To investigate optical path
differences, a student places a solid, transparent glass block of thickness 𝑡 = 1.00 𝑐𝑚 and refractive index 𝑛𝑔 =
1.50 completely inside the chamber, oriented perfectly perpendicular to the light beam.
Initially, the remaining free space inside the chamber is a perfect vacuum. The
student then uses a pump to slowly fill the chamber with an unknown gas
until it reaches a final steady pressure. During this filling process, exactly 64
fringes are observed to shift past the crosshairs in the field of view.
(a) Derive an expression for the change in the optical path length of this
interferometer arm as the gas fills the chamber.
(b) Calculate the index of refraction of the unknown gas at its final pressure.
(c) Did the presence of the 1.00 𝑐𝑚 glass block inside the chamber increase,
decrease, or have no effect on the total number of shifted fringes compared to
an identical experiment where the chamber was initially completely empty?
Briefly explain your reasoning.
2. A perfectly flat piece of glass (𝑛𝑔 = 1.50) is placed over a perfectly flat piece of black plastic (𝑛𝑝 = 1.20) as
shown in the figure. They touch at edge A. Light of wavelength 𝜆 = 600 𝑛𝑚 is incident normally from above.
Initially, with air 𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑟 ≈ 1.00) in the gap, the location of the dark fringes in
the reflected light is shown in the sketch of Fig (b). Note that a dark fringe is
located at contact point A, and the 5th consecutive dark fringe after A is
located exactly at edge B.
Later, a transparent liquid of unknown refractive index 𝑛𝐿 is injected,
completely filling the wedge-shaped space between the glass and the plastic.
A student observing the new interference pattern notes two distinct
changes:
1-The fringe at the contact point A has switched from a dark fringe to a bright fringe.
2-There are now exactly 7 dark fringes across the plate, with the 7th dark fringe located precisely at edge B.
(a) Using the observation at point A, determine the allowed theoretical range for the refractive index of the liquid
𝑛𝐿 . Explain your reasoning in terms of reflection phase shifts.
(b) Calculate the exact refractive index of the liquid, 𝑛𝐿 .
(c) Calculate the thickness of the space between the glass and the plastic at edge B.
3. A ship approaching a harbor is transmitting a dual-frequency radio
signal containing two wavelengths: 𝜆1 = 3.43 𝑚 and an unknown
wavelength 𝜆2 . The ship's transmitting antenna is located ℎ = 23.0 𝑚
above sea level, and the receiving station antenna on the tower is
located 𝐻 = 160𝑚 above sea level, as shown in the figure. Assume
that the calm ocean reflects radio waves perfectly and introduces a
𝜋 radian (180∘ ) phase shift upon reflection.
As the ship moves in from the open ocean (where horizontal distance 𝐷 is very large), the receiving station
continuously monitors the intensity of both signals. At a specific horizontal distance 𝐷, the radio operator notices
that contact for the 𝜆1 signal is momentarily lost for the first time (intensity minimum). Interestingly, at this exact
same distance 𝐷, the received intensity for the 𝜆2 signal is found to be at an absolute maximum.
(a) Assuming 𝐷 is large enough to use the standard path-difference approximation, calculate the horizontal
distance 𝐷 where this event occurs.
(b) Based on the interference conditions at this specific distance, determine the two largest possible values for the
unknown wavelength 𝜆2 .
(c) If the ship continues to approach the harbor, which signal 𝜆1 or the largest 𝜆2 found in part b) will experience its
next complete loss of contact first? Justify your answer mathematically.
4. In a double-slit experiment, monochromatic light of wavelength 557 𝑛𝑚 illuminates two slits with a separation
distance of 𝑑 = 0.150 𝑚𝑚 and a slit width of 𝑎 = 0.030 𝑚𝑚.
(a) Determine the total number of complete interference fringes that
appear strictly within the central maximum of the diffraction envelope.
Show mathematically why the fringes at the exact boundaries of this
envelope are considered "missing orders."
(b) Calculate the exact ratio of the intensity of the third-order
interference fringe (𝑚 = 3) to the intensity of the central fringe. What
would be the percentage error in this theoretical intensity if you were to
ignore the diffraction effect (i.e., assuming point-like slits)?
(c) Suppose the slit width 𝑎 can be adjusted while keeping the slit separation 𝑑 constant. To what exact value must
the slit width 𝑎 be increased so that the third-order interference fringe becomes a missing order?
5. In an X-ray diffraction experiment using a crystal with a square lattice, X-rays of
wavelength 0.261 𝑛𝑚 are directed at the crystal. A first-order Bragg scattering
maximum from the dashed planes shown in the figure is observed when the
incident X-ray beam makes an angle of 63.8° with the horizontal top surface of the
crystal.
(a) Calculate the unit cell dimension 𝑎0 .
(b) Assuming the same X-ray wavelength, at what new angle of incidence (relative
to the horizontal top surface) must the beam be directed to observe a second-
order Bragg scattering maximum from these exact same dashed planes?
6. For a single-slit diffraction pattern, the intensity at an angle \theta is given by the equation
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝛼 2 𝜋𝑎𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃
𝐼 = 𝐼𝑚 ( ) , where 𝛼 = .
𝛼 𝜆
(a) Show analytically that the values of 𝛼 at which the secondary intensity maxima occur must satisfy the
transcendental equation 𝛼 = 𝑡𝑎𝑛𝛼.
(b) Using the first non-zero root of this equation (𝛼1 ≈ 4.493 𝑟𝑎𝑑), calculate the ratio of the intensity of the first
𝐼
secondary maximum to the intensity of the central maximum ( 1⁄𝐼 ).
𝑚
𝐼𝑚
(c) Show that for highly placed secondary maxima (i.e., large values of the order 𝑚), the relative intensity ⁄𝐼 can
0
1
be approximated by the expression 2 . Explain the physical reasoning behind this approximation.
[(𝑚+1/2)𝜋]
7. In a lunar ranging experiment, a pulsed ruby laser (𝜆 = 0.69 𝜇𝑚) is directed to the Moon through a reflecting
telescope with a primary mirror radius 𝑅𝑇 = 1.3 𝑚. A retro-reflector on the Moon acts like a circular aperture of
radius 𝑅𝑀 = 10 𝑐𝑚, reflecting the light directly back to Earth. The Earth-Moon distance is 𝑑 = 3.84 × 108 𝑚.
Assume that for diffraction, all the energy of a beam is uniformly distributed within its central Airy disk.
(a) Calculate the exact fraction of the original laser energy that is ultimately picked up by the detector on Earth in
an ideal vacuum scenario.
(b) In reality, atmospheric turbulence on Earth limits the outgoing beam's minimum angular spread to 𝜃𝑎𝑡𝑚 =
2.0 × 10−6 𝑟𝑎𝑑, which is worse than the telescope's diffraction limit. However, assume the return beam's spread is
still completely dominated by the diffraction of the small lunar reflector. Calculate the new fraction of detected
energy. Does this mean a larger telescope on Earth would not help improve the outgoing signal? Explain your
reasoning.
8. Light containing a mixture of two wavelengths, 500 𝑛𝑚 and 600 𝑛𝑚, is incident normally on a diffraction
grating. It is desired that:
(1) The first and second principal maxima for both wavelengths appear at an angle 𝜃 ≤ 30∘ .
(2) The angular dispersion be as high as possible.
(3) The intensity of the third-order maximum for the 600 𝑛𝑚 wavelength is exactly zero due to the single-slit
diffraction envelope.
(a) What should be the separation between adjacent slits (𝑑)?
(b) What is the required individual slit width (𝑎)?
(c) Name all the orders for the 600 𝑛𝑚 wavelength that actually appear on the screen.
(d) If the grating is illuminated over a total width of 1.2 𝑐𝑚, can this grating resolve the 600 𝑛𝑚 line from a nearby
600.2 𝑛𝑚 line in the second order? Justify your answer.
9. A light source emits a strong spectral line at 𝜆 = 600 𝑛𝑚. The light is incident normally on a diffraction grating.
Two adjacent principal maxima for this wavelength occur at 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 0.20 and 𝑠𝑖𝑛𝜃 = 0.30. The fourth order is a
missing order.
(a) Calculate the separation between adjacent slits (𝑑) and the smallest possible individual slit width (𝑎).
(b) Name all the orders for this wavelength that actually appear on the screen.
(c) If the grating has a total width of 𝑊 = 1.5 𝑐𝑚, what is the smallest wavelength difference Δ𝜆 that can be
theoretically resolved from the 600 𝑛𝑚 line in the highest observable order?
10. A diffraction grating is made up of slits of width 𝑎 = 310 𝑛𝑚 with a separation between centers of 𝑑 = 930 𝑛𝑚.
The grating is illuminated by monochromatic plane waves of wavelength 𝜆 = 615 𝑛𝑚 at normal incidence.
(a) How many diffraction maxima are totally visible on a screen placed far away?
(b) Calculate the ratio of the intensity of the first-order principal maximum (𝐼1 ) to the intensity of the central
zeroth-order maximum (𝐼0 ).
(c) If the incident beam illuminates exactly a width of 𝑊 = 1.0 𝑚𝑚 on the grating, find the angular half-width
(Δ𝜃ℎ𝑤 ) of the first-order spectral line.
11. A thin film of acetone (index of refraction 𝑛𝑎 = 1.25) is initially coating a thick glass plate (index of refraction
𝑛𝑔 = 1.50). Plane light waves are incident normal to the film. When viewing the reflected wave, an observer notes
that complete destructive interference occurs at a wavelength of 600 𝑛𝑚 and the adjacent complete constructive
interference occurs at 700 𝑛𝑚.
(a) Calculate the minimum thickness of the acetone film.
(b) Suppose the glass plate is carefully removed so that the same acetone film is now suspended in the air (index of
refraction 𝑛𝑎𝑖𝑟 = 1.00) like a soap bubble. For normally incident white light, find all the wavelengths in the visible
spectrum (400 𝑛𝑚 to 700 𝑛𝑚) that will now undergo complete destructive interference in the reflected light.
12. The resolving power of a diffraction grating is given by 𝑅 = 𝜆/Δ𝜆 = 𝑁𝑚, where 𝑁 is the number of rulings
illuminated and m is the order of diffraction.
(a) Derive the relationship (Δ𝑓)(Δ𝑡) = 1 , where Δ𝑓 is the minimum resolvable frequency difference of the grating,
and Δ𝑡 is the difference in the "time of flight" to the screen between the extreme rays (from the first and last slits of
the grating).
(b) A research laboratory uses a grating with 𝑁 = 50,000 to analyze a laser pulse operating at a mean wavelength
of 𝜆 = 500 𝑛𝑚 in the second order (𝑚 = 2). In order for the grating to fully resolve the frequency components of
the light, the intrinsic frequency bandwidth of the laser pulse must be narrower than the grating's frequency
resolution Δ𝑓 . Based on your derivation in part (a), calculate the minimum temporal duration 𝜏𝑚𝑖𝑛 that this laser
pulse can have without its spectral width exceeding the resolution limit of this specific grating setup. (Assume
𝜏𝑚𝑖𝑛 ≈ 1/Δ𝑓).
Bonus Problem :
A monochromatic beam of parallel light is incident on a large "collimating" hole of diameter 𝑎 ≫ 𝜆. Two
complementary obstacles, shown in the diagram below, are available to be placed over the collimating hole.
Obstacle 𝐴 is an opaque circle with an irregularly shaped transparent aperture, and obstacle 𝐵 is its exact
"photographic negative" (transparent where 𝐴 is opaque, and opaque where 𝐴 is transparent).
(a) Point 𝑃 lies deep within the geometrical shadow region on a distant screen, as
shown in the accompanying figure. At this location, the intensity of light from the
unobstructed collimating hole of diameter 𝑎 is effectively zero due to destructive
interference (diffraction minimum). Using the principle of superposition of
electric fields, show rigorously that the intensity at point 𝑃 is identical for each of
the two diffracting objects 𝐴 and 𝐵 when placed individually over the hole (this is
known as Babinet’s principle).
(b) Now, suppose point 𝑃 is moved to the exact center of the screen (on the
central optical axis), where the full, unobstructed collimating hole produces a
non-zero maximum electric field amplitude 𝐸0 . Let the complex electric field
produced at this central point by object 𝐴 alone be 𝐸𝐴 . Derive an expression for the intensity 𝐼𝐵 produced by object
𝐵 at this central point in terms of 𝐸0 and 𝐸𝐴 . Does Babinet's principle (𝐼𝐴 = 𝐼𝐵 ) still hold at this central maximum?
Explain mathematically.
Hint:
Part (a): Apply the Principle of Superposition for electric fields. Consider what happens if you were to place both
obstacle A and obstacle B over the collimating hole simultaneously. Since they are complementary (one is the exact
photographic negative of the other), together they would leave the entire hole completely unobstructed. Therefore,
the total electric field at any point on the screen must satisfy the vector relation:
𝑬𝟎 = 𝑬𝑨 + 𝑬𝑩
where 𝐸0 is the field from the unobstructed hole, and 𝐸𝐴 and 𝐸𝐵 are the fields from obstacles A and B individually.
For a point 𝑃 deep within the geometrical shadow, look closely at what the problem states about the value of 𝐸0 .
Use the relationship between intensity and electric field (𝐼 ∝ |𝐸|2 ) to draw your conclusion.
Part (b): Use the exact same superposition equation from part (a). At the central maximum, however, the
unobstructed field 𝐸0 is non-zero. Isolate 𝐸𝐵 in terms of 𝐸0 and 𝐸𝐴 . Keep in mind that these are complex amplitudes,
so the intensity is given by the square of the absolute magnitude:
𝑰𝑩 ∝ |𝑬𝑩 |𝟐 = |𝑬𝟎 − 𝑬𝑨 |𝟐
Analyze mathematically whether |𝐸𝐴 |2 is generally equal to |𝐸0 − 𝐸𝐴 |2 to determine if Babinet's principle still holds
at the center.