Refraction and Diffraction Chapters 22 and 24

Electromagnetic Spectrum - Know It!*

*At least the trend in wavelength and frequency

Law of Reflection
Angle of incidence () Angle at which the ray hits the boundary

Angle of Reflection () Angle at which the reflected ray leaves the boundary

Angle of Incidence = Angle of Reflection

NOTE: Angle is measured from the normal (perpendicular to boundary; dotted line in diagram)

Refraction

Bending of waves entering a new (different) medium Angle of incidence () Angle at which the ray hits the boundary Angle of Refraction () Angle at which the ray moves through the new medium

Refraction
If velocity in new medium is less than velocity in old medium, the waves bend toward the normal (Second Diagram)

If velocity in new medium is more than velocity in old medium, the waves bend away from the normal (First Diagram) NOTE: Only speed and wavelength change in refraction. Frequency stays the same!

Index of Refraction

Ratio of the speed of the wave in a vacuum to the speed of the wave in the medium

n must be greater than or equal to 1 (See Proof 1)

Snell's Law -

Dispersion

Separation of white light into colored components Shorter wavelengths diffract more than longer ones

More on Reflection and Refraction

Incident rays are usually both reflected and refracted

If index of refraction of other medium is great than index of current medium, a 180 phase change occurs in reflection (trough becomes crest and vise versa)

Otherwise, there is no phase change

Critical Angle
Critical Angle Angle at which the refracted ray is parallel to the boundary

Total Internal Reflection

Total Internal Reflection Occurs when the incoming ray is completely reflected back into the medium from whence the ray originated (Diagram 2)

Total Internal Reflection can only occur in changing from a higher index of refraction to a lower one (See Proof 2)

Conditions for Interference

Source of wave must be coherent

Coherent Light all waves must be of the same wavelength and must be in phase with respect to the others

Example of Coherent Light Laser (bottom picture)

Example of Incoherent Light Regular or Filtered Light (first 2 pictures

Thin Film Interference

Recall when waves reflect off a low index-high index boundary, a 180 phase shift occurs, but the refracted ray does not undergo a phase change The refracted ray reflects off the bottom surface (with or without a phase change depends on index of other medium at boundary), and once again refracts through the top boundary

In order to obtain constructive interference, the two rays exiting the film (one reflected off, one refracted from) must be in phase
Therefore, the distance the wave travels in the film must be half a wavelength in order to get it back in phase with the initial reflected ray NOTE: Remember that the initial refracted ray travels through the film in two directions, so the half wavelength is equally split between the two paths

Thin Film Interference, cont.

This results in the thickness of the film being equal to an odd-fourth multiples (if there are an odd number of phase changes; , , etc.) or even-fourth multiples (if there are an even number of phase changes; 2/4, 4/4, etc. ) of the wavelength Real-life Examples: Bubbles, Oil on pavement

2t = m

t = thickness of film

m = number of wavelengths inside film

Diffraction
Constructive Interference (Maxima) represented by bright bands

Destructive Interference (Minima) represented by dark bands

Order of Maxima/Minima (represented by m) number of bands away from center (Zero order)

Order counts in either direction (1st order maximum to the right or to the left (and so on...) Minima have half-orders (m = .5, 1.5, 2.5, etc.)

Maxima have whole number orders (m = 0, 1, 2, etc.)

Single Slit Diffraction

x = distance to maximum or minimum

L = distance to screen from slit d = width of slit*

m = order of maximum or minimum (can be any order, though 1st is generally used)

= angle formed by x and L * Watch out! Often they will give you the number of lines per unit distance. You want the reciprocal (distance/line)

x/L can be substituted for sin at small angles because sin = tan

Polarization
Polarized waves in same direction

Minimum transmission when at right angles; Maximum when parallel

How sunglasses work

Another great illustration is in the book (Figure 24.27)

Extra Diagrams
Diagrams further defining toward the normal and away from the normal in refraction

Proof 1

Prove: Index of refraction (n) 1 Required Equation(s)/Concepts: n = c/v v cannot be greater than c (the speed of light in a vacuum), so at most, v can equal c If v = c, n = c/c, or n = 1

If v < c, the denominator is smaller than the numerator; therefore, n > 1

Conclusion: n 1

Proof 2

Prove: Total Internal Reflection can only occur in changing from a higher index of refraction to a lower one

Required Equation(s)/Concepts: -1 sin t 1; Critical Angle Formula

Sin t cannot be greater than 1 n2/n1 must therefore be less than or equal to 1 If n1 < n2, then sin t > 1, which is impossible Conclusion: In order for sin t 1 to remain true, n1 must be n2