interference and diffraction
physics 112N
the limits of ray optics
‘shadow’ of the point of a pin
physics 112N 2
the limits of ray optics
physics 112N 3
the limits of ray optics
physics 112N 4
this is how waves behave
and light is an electromagnetic wave
- we need to revisit wave properties
physics 112N 5
a simple system - two wave sources
suppose we have two sources emitting waves in-phase at the same frequency:
S1
S2
physics 112N 6
the double slit experiment
observe a pattern of dark and light regions, “fringes”
physics 112N 7
the double slit experiment
observe a pattern of dark and light regions, “fringes”
y
d
see the textbook
for a derivation of
R
bright fringes ym =m
d
0 1 R
dark fringes ym = m+ 2 d
physics 112N 8
diffraction
➜ consider this effect seen near sharp edges:
physics 112N 12
diffraction from a single slit
➜ shine monochromatic light onto a thin slit
pattern of light and dark fringes
➜ wide central bright fringe
➜ narrower alternating dark and bright fringes
➜ decreasing intensity away from the center
physics 112N 13
an aside on wave propagation - Huygens’s principle
“every point of a wavefront can be considered to be a source of secondary wavelets that
spread out in all directions with a speed equal to the speed of propagation of the wave”
t=0 plane wavefront
source
wavelet after a small time
t= t plane wavefront
physics 112N 14
an aside on wave propagation - Huygens’s principle
“every point of a wavefront can be considered to be a source of secondary wavelets that
spread out in all directions with a speed equal to the speed of propagation of the wave”
t=0 plane wavefront
source
wavelet after a small time
t= t plane wavefront
a plane wavefront begets a plane wavefront
- make every point a source of secondary wavefronts
physics 112N 15
an aside on wave propagation - Huygens’s principle
“every point of a wavefront can be considered to be a source of secondary wavelets that
spread out in all directions with a speed equal to the speed of propagation of the wave”
t=0 plane wavefront
source
wavelet after a small time
t= t plane wavefront
a plane wavefront begets a plane wavefront
- make every point a source of secondary wavefronts
plane wavefront
physics 112N 16
an aside on wave propagation - Huygens’s principle
“every point of a wavefront can be considered to be a source of secondary wavelets that
spread out in all directions with a speed equal to the speed of propagation of the wave”
t=0 plane wavefront
source
wavelet after a small time
t= t plane wavefront
a plane wavefront begets a plane wavefront
- make every point a source of secondary wavefronts
propagated wavefront
original wavefront
physics 112N 17
an aside on wave propagation - Huygens’s principle
“every point of a wavefront can be considered to be a source of secondary wavelets that
spread out in all directions with a speed equal to the speed of propagation of the wave”
time evolution of a plane wavefront
physics 112N 18
a single slit as many sources
put the screen very far away (or use a lens)
physics 112N 19
a single slit as many sources
put the screen very far away (or use a lens)
a
a 4 ...
2
destructive interference destructive interference
when when
a a
sin ✓ = sin ✓ =
2 2 4 2
a sin ✓1 = a sin ✓2 = 2 . . . a sin ✓m = m
physics 112N 20
diffraction pattern from a single slit
R
positions of dark fringes ym =m y3
a
y2
y1
0
the actual intensity distribution
physics 112N 21
diffraction and slit size
positions of dark fringes
R
ym =m
a
notice that as the slit size decreases,
the spreading of light increases
physics 112N 22
a diffraction grating
many slits of equal size,
equally spaced
angular distribution
of bright fringes
d sin ✓ = m
physics 112N 26
diffraction gratings d sin ✓ = m
can be used to separate different wavelengths of light in a mixed beam
e.g. a beam of mixed blue and violet light :
physics 112N 27
diffraction gratings
physics 112N 28
a diffraction grating spectrometer d sin ✓ = m
can use to make precision measurements of wavelength components
useful for atomic physics ...
physics 112N 29
a diffraction grating spectrometer d sin ✓ = m
light from an unknown source is shone
though a diffraction grating of 800 lines
per mm
the diffraction pattern is observed through
a rotating telescope
a bright line is seen in the forward
direction and rotating away from there, the
next bright line is seen at 25º
25
what is the wavelength of the light ?
~ 530 nm
physics 112N 30
a diffraction grating spectrometer d sin ✓ = m
light from an unknown source is shone
though a diffraction grating of 800 lines
per mm
the diffraction pattern is observed through
a rotating telescope
a bright line is seen in the forward
direction and rotating away from there, the
next bright line is seen at 25º
25
at what angle will we see the next line ?
~ 58º
physics 112N 31
a diffraction grating spectrometer d sin ✓ = m
light from an unknown source is shone
though a diffraction grating of 800 lines
per mm
the diffraction pattern is observed through
a rotating telescope
a bright line is seen in the forward
direction and rotating away from there, the
next bright line is seen at 25º
25
when we reach 90º, how many lines will we have
seen? three (including
the central line)
physics 112N 32
white light through a diffraction grating
notice that the bright fringes for different colors can start to overlap ...
... can you see why this is from the equation ?
d sin ✓ = m
physics 112N 35
diffraction from a circular aperture
suppose the hole the light is traveling through is circular rather than a slit
first dark ring is at an angle satisfying
second dark ring is at an angle satisfying
physics 112N 36
diffraction from a circular aperture
e.g. the ‘hole’ might be the lens of a telescope
physics 112N 37
resolution
so the ability of a telescope to resolve two objects with
small angular separation is ultimately limited by the size
of the lens
physics 112N 38