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  • Young's Experiment: λ = y - d / (m - L)

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    Leon Mathaios
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    Young's experiment in 1801 was the first to measure the wavelength of light using interference. He passed sunlight through a pinhole and used a card to split the beam into two coherent sources. The interference pattern was projected on a screen where measurements could be made. Modern versions use a laser split by a slide with two slits. Measurements of the slit separation, distance to the screen, and distance between interference fringes allow the wavelength to be calculated using Young's equation. The document provides an example, concluding with a measured wavelength of 652 nanometers for visible light.

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    Young's Experiment

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    Young's Experiment

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    Young's experiment in 1801 was the first to measure the wavelength of light using interference. He passed sunlight through a pinhole and used a card to split the beam into two coherent sources. The interference pattern was projected on a screen where measurements could be made. Modern versions use a laser split by a slide with two slits. Measurements of the slit separation, distance to the screen, and distance between interference fringes allow the wavelength to be calculated using Young's equation. The document provides an example, concluding with a measured wavelength of 652 nanometers for visible light.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
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    13 views2 pages

    Young's Experiment: λ = y - d / (m - L)

    Uploaded by

    Leon Mathaios
    Young's experiment in 1801 was the first to measure the wavelength of light using interference. He passed sunlight through a pinhole and used a card to split the beam into two coherent sources. The interference pattern was projected on a screen where measurements could be made. Modern versions use a laser split by a slide with two slits. Measurements of the slit separation, distance to the screen, and distance between interference fringes allow the wavelength to be calculated using Young's equation. The document provides an example, concluding with a measured wavelength of 652 nanometers for visible light.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    5/21/2017 Young'sExperiment

    Young'sExperiment
    AnatomyofaTwoPointSourceInterferencePattern
    ThePathDifference
    Young'sEquation
    Young'sExperiment
    OtherApplicationsofTwoPointSourceInterference

    TheprevioussectionofLesson3discussedThomasYoung'sefforttoderiveanequationrelatingthe
    wavelengthofalightsourcetoreliablymeasureddistancesassociatedwithatwopointsourcelight
    interferencepattern.Theequation,knownasYoung'sequationis:
    =yd/(mL)
    In1801,Youngdevisedandperformedanexperimenttomeasurethewavelengthoflight.Asdiscussed
    inthepreviouspartofthislesson,itwasimportantthatthetwosourcesof
    lightthatformthepatternbecoherent.ThedifficultyconfrontingYoung
    wasthattheusuallightsourcesoftheday(candles,lanterns,etc.)could
    notserveascoherentlightsources.Young'smethodinvolvedusingsunlight
    thatenteredtheroomthroughapinholeinawindowshutter.Amirrorwas
    usedtodirectthepinholebeamhorizontallyacrosstheroom.Toobtaintwo
    sourcesoflight,Youngusedasmallpapercardtobreakthesinglepinhole
    beamintotwobeams,withpartofthebeampassingbytheleftsideofthe
    cardandpartofthebeampassingbytherightsideofthecard.Sincethese
    twobeamsemergedfromthesamesourcethesuntheycouldbe
    consideredcomingfromtwocoherentsources.Lightwavesfromthesetwo
    sources(theleftsideandtherightsideofthecard)wouldinterfere.Theinterferencepatternwasthen
    projectedontoascreenwheremeasurementscouldbemadetodeterminethewavelengthoflight.
    Today'sclassroomversionofthesameexperimentistypicallyperformedusingalaserbeamasthe
    source.Ratherthanusinganotecardtosplitthesinglebeamintotwocoherentbeams,acarbon
    coatedglassslidewithtwocloselyspacedetchedslitsisused.Theslidewithitsslitsismostcommonly
    purchasedfromamanufacturerwhoprovidesameasuredvaluefortheslitseparationdistance
    thedvalueinYoung'sequation.Lightfromthelaserbeamdiffractsthroughtheslitsandemergesas
    twoseparatecoherentwaves.Theinterferencepatternisthenprojectedontoascreenwherereliable
    measurementscanbemadeofLandyforagivenbrightspotwithordervaluem.Knowingthesefour
    valuesallowsastudenttodeterminethevalueofthewavelengthoftheoriginallightsource.


    Toillustratesometypicalresultsfromthisexperimentandthesubsequentanalysis,considerthesample
    dataprovidedbelowford,y,Landm.
    http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson3/YoungsExperimentDataTable 1/2
    SlitSeparation(d) 0.250mm
    5/21/2017 Young'sExperiment

    DistancefromSlitsto
    Screen(L) 9.78m

    DistancefromAN0to
    AN4(y) 10.2cm

    Ordervalue(m) 4
    (Note:AN0=centralantinodeandAN4=fourthantinode)

    Thedeterminationofthewavelengthdemandsthattheabovevaluesford,y,Landmbesubstituted
    intoYoung'sequation.
    =yd/(mL)
    Carefulinspectionoftheunitsofmeasurementisalwaysadvisable.Thesampledatahererevealthat
    eachmeasuredquantityisrecordedwithadifferentunit.Beforesubstitutingthesemeasuredvaluesinto
    theaboveequation,itisimportanttogivesomethoughttothetreatmentofunits.Onemeansof
    resolvingtheissueofnonuniformunitsistosimplypickaunitoflengthandtoconvertallquantitiesto
    thatunit.Ifdoingso,onemightwanttopickaunitthatoneofthedatavaluesalreadyhassothatthere
    isonelessconversion.Awisechoiceistochoosethemeterastheunittowhichallothermeasured
    valuesareconverted.Sincethereare1000millimetersin1meter,the0.250mmisequivalentto
    0.000250meter.Andsincethereare100centimetersin1meter,the10.2cmisequivalentto0.102m.
    Thus,thenewvaluesofd,yandLare:
    d 0.000250m
    L 9.78m
    y 0.102m
    m 4
    Whiletheconversionofallthedatatothesameunitisnottheonlymeansoftreatingsuchmeasured
    values,itmightbethemostadvisableparticularlyforthosestudentswhoarelessateasewithsuch
    conversions.
    Nowthattheissueregardingtheunitsofmeasurementhasbeenresolved,substitutionofthemeasured
    valuesintoYoung'sequationcanbeperformed.
    =(0.102m)(0.000250m)/[(4)(9.78m)]
    =6.52x107m
    Asisevidenthere,thewavelengthofvisiblelightisrathersmall.Forthisreasonwavelengthisoften
    expressedusingtheunitnanometer,where1meterisequivalentto109nanometers.Multiplyingby
    109willconvertthewavelengthfrommeterstonanometers(abbreviatednm).
    =652nm

    http://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson3/YoungsExperiment 2/2

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