Youngs

double slit experiment

Nature of light unclear for a long 0me Does it consist of par0cles or waves? First solid evidence of wave nature arrived in 1801:
Youngs double slit experiment

B A C 1

2 Interference Fringes

Demonstration
hGp://phet.colorado.edu/en/simula0on/wave-interference

Questions
Do the fringes appear for all colours of light?
Yes, but the distances between them are dierent

How far apart are the fringes?

It depends on the wavelength of the light, on how far the screen with the double slits is, and the distance between the two slits

How is the distance between the fringes related to the colour (wavelength) of light?
Other things being equal, longer wavelength (lower frequency) means greater distance between the fringes By measuring the distance between the fringes, we can determine the wavelength of light

Why do we not see this interference of light in everyday life?

Fringe distance is 0ny and sources are incoherent.

Theory behind the experiment

B d M C O

Path dierence: the dierence in distance traveled by the two waves from their respec0ve sources to a given point on the paGern At point O, the path dierence is BO-CO=0
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Theory behind the experiment

B d M C P O x D

Path dierence at P:
For a bright fringe:
BP-CP = m
(where m=0,1,2)

6 2 Etc

Theory behind the experiment

B d M C P D O x

Path dierence at P:
For a bright fringe:
BP-CP = m
(where m=0,1,2)

/2

For a dark fringe:

3/2 Etc BP-CP=(m+1/2)

Separation of the fringes

B d M C Q O x P D

BQ = BP CP = path dierence = m (for a bright fringe) BC too small compared to BP, so we can assume CQ meets BP at right angles From trigonometry (triangle BQC): sin() = BQ/BC = m/d From trigonometry (triangle PMO): tan() = OP/OM = x/D is 0ny so: sin() = tan() m/d = x/D = xd/mD (where m=0,1,2..)

Separation of the fringes

B d M C Q O x P D

= xd/mD x =mD/d
For the 1st bright fringe (m=1): x1=D/d y=xm-xm-1=D/d nd bright fringe (m=2): x =2D/d For the 2 2 etc Distance between two consecu0ve fringes

Example
In a Youngs slit experiment, the separa0on between the rst and fh bright fringe is 2.5mm when the wavelength used is 6.2x10-7m. The distance from the slits to the screen is 0.80m. What is the separa0on of the two slits?

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Fringe position

3 D 2 D D d d d

D 2 D 3 D d d d

m=-3 m=-2 m=-1 m=0 m=1 m=2 m=3

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Blue = shorter Red = longer

Fringe position

3 D 2 D D d d d

D 2 D 3 D d d d

m=-3 m=-2 m=-1 m=0 m=1 m=2 m=3

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Blue = shorter Red = longer

The electromagnetic spectrum

The electromagne1c spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagne0c radia0on

Wave-particle duality
Wave-par1cle duality: The amount of energy a photon has can cause it to behave more like a wave or more like a par0cle We are not talking about a dierence in what a photon is, but about how it behaves at dierent energies

The visible spectrum

The visible spectrum is the region of the electromagne0c spectrum consis0ng of photons with wavelengths from approximately 400 to 700 nm

Why is the sky blue?

Bluer wavelengths get scaGered more by atmospheric molecules than red wavelengths (Rayleigh scaGering) Most of the longer wavelengths pass straight through Shorter wavelengths get absorbed by the atmospheric molecules and re-emiGed in random direc0ons It is scaGered all around the sky so in whichever direc0on you look, some of the scaGered blue light will reach you Nearer the horizon blue light gets scaGered even more

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Example
A pair of screens are placed 13.7m apart. The rst screen has two thin parallel slits cut into it which are 0.0960 cm apart. Monochroma0c light shines onto the screen with the slits. A third order fringe is observed on the second screen, 2.50cm from the central fringe. Determine the wavelength of this light. Roughly what colour is it?

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Example
If a yellow light with a wavelength of 540 nm shines on a screen with double slits where the slits are cut 0.0100 mm apart, what is the angle from the central fringe that you need to turn to observe the second order fringe?

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The single slit effect

You can s0ll get fringes even if you use a single slit The slit behaves as though it has a large number of point sources spread evenly across the width of the slit The wavefronts from the dierent ends of the slit will be arriving at dierent points on the end screen at dierent 0mes You s0ll get construc0ve and destruc0ve interference

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Interference by thin Dilms

Coherent sources of waves (constant phase dierence) produce an interference paGern Interference paGerns are also observed when light passes through a thin lm of a transparent medium (e.g. oil) and gets reected back

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Interference by thin Dilms

Coherent sources of waves (constant phase dierence) produce an interference paGern Interference paGerns are also observed when light passes through a thin lm of a transparent medium (e.g. oil) and gets reected back
Construc0ve interference: " 1% 2oil d cos( 2 ) = $ m ' # 2& Destruc0ve interference:

2oil d cos( 2 ) = m

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To Do
Read sec0on 18 from the book [up to 18.3 p.341-p.348 Physical Op0cs] Homework Assignment wk9: ques0ons 17.4, 17.6, 17.7, 17.8, 17.9, 17.12 Hand it in no later than 4:00pm next Wednesday - LATE WORK WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED

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