Title: Version: Authors: Appropriate Level: Abstract: July 1, 2006

Diffraction of Light

Gil Toombes, Andrew J. Telesca, Jr., James Overhiser, Martin Alderman Grades 9-12 The diffraction and interference of light are easily observed phenomena that give direct, tangible evidence of the wave nature of light. Diffraction is at the root of many technologies, scientific techniques, and common visual phenomena. Students explore diffraction by shining a laser at a hair, a variable-width slit made from pencils, wire meshes of various size and diffraction gratings. After an introduction to single-slit and Nslit diffraction equations, students are faced with three challenges: (1) to measure the track spacing in a CD and DVD, (2) to determine the relative thickness of hairs, and (3) to estimate the diameter of a lycopodium spore. In the last two challenges, students design their own procedure. Two 40-minute periods 4.3l Diffraction occurs when waves pass by obstacles or through openings. The wave-length of the incident wave and the size of the obstacle or opening affect how the wave spreads out. 4.3m When waves of a similar nature meet, the resulting interference may be explained using the principle of superposition. Standing waves are a special case of interference. Diffraction of Light is a kit available from the CIPT Equipment Lending Library, www.cns.cornell.edu/cipt/.

Time Required: NY Standards Met:

Special Notes:

Center for Nanoscale Systems Institute for Physics Teachers 632 Clark Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853 www.cns.cornell.edu/cipt/ cns_contact@cornell.edu 7/06

Objectives: To recognize that light is a wave with a small wavelength. To learn that diffraction is the bending of waves around an obstacle, and to differentiate this from projection. To gain familiarity with single-slit and multi-slit diffraction patterns. To learn that the dimensions of features in a diffraction pattern are inversely related to the dimensions of the object causing diffraction for small angles. To apply the diffraction equations to determine the size of features on some common objects, including CDs and DVDs, hairs, and lycopodium spores. Class Time Required: Two 40 minute periods Teacher Preparation Time Required: 5 - 10 minutes to set out supplies Materials Needed: Diffraction of Light is a kit in the CIPT equipment lending library Assumed Prior Knowledge of Students: Students understand the definition of wavelength, interference, and diffraction Background Information for Teachers: History of the particle versus wave debate for light: 1. Isaac Newton (1642-1727) thought that light must be a particle a. Light cast sharp shadows, and it was commonly thought that only particles would go in perfectly straight lines in order to cast sharp shadows. b. Water and sound waves were observed to bend around obstacles, not go in straight lines to cast sharp shadows. This wave behavior was clearly distinct from particle behavior, and light did not appear to exhibit such behavior. c. Newton had incomparable status in the scientific community, so his view dominated throughout the 1700s. (Youngs experiments in 1803 finally gave the concept of light as a wave common acceptance.) 2. Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) thought that light must be a wave a. In ca. 1690, Huygens attempted to persuade Newton that light was a longitudinal wave, like sound waves b. Huygens observed that light reflects and refracts like sound and water waves do c. He pointed out that if the wavelength of light were small enough, diffraction would be minimal and sharp shadows should occur. 3. Francesco Maria Grimaldi (1618-1663) thought that light must be a wave a. He passed a beam of light through two consecutive narrow slits and onto a surface

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i. The band of light on the surface was a bit larger than the band of light entering the first slit. The beam had bent slightly outward at the edges of the slit. BUT his findings were neglected! ii. Grimaldi called this bending of the light diffraction iii. He observed colored bands of light towards the outside (different wavelengths of light diffract at different angles), and it remained unexplained for 150 years 4. Thomas Young (1773 - 1829) a. Young [proved that light is a wave] in 1803 by sending light through very narrow openings and showing that separate bands of light appeared where there should have been nothing but the sharply shadowed boundary of the edge of the opening. These bands of light arose from the kind of diffraction around corners that Grimaldi had noted, and it could not be explained by the particle theory. Young had a more conclusive piece of evidence. From his study of sound he grew interested in the phenomenon of beats, in which two different pitches of sound produced periods of intensified sound separated by periods of silence. This was easily explained, since the two pitches had different wavelengths and therefore did not keep step. Now, then, would two light waves add up to produce darkness? If they were particles, they couldnt; if they were waves, they could. Young introduced light beams through two narrow orifices. They spread out and overlapped. The overlapping region was not a simple area of intensified light but formed a striped pattern of alternating light and darkness, a situation (interference) exactly analogous to beats in sound. From his diffraction experiment Young was able to calculate the wavelength of visible light, for it was only necessary to figure out what wavelength would allow the observed degree of small bending. --Isaac Asimov, from Isaac Asimovs Biographical Encyclopedia of Science & Technology, Avon Books, 1972 b. Young used double refraction to show that light waves must be transverse 5. Einstein a. In 1905 Einstein read Planks paper in which he calculated the electromagnetic energy radiated by a hot body. Plank was only able to get theoretical agreement with experiment by assuming that the energy emitted by the oscillating charges of the hot body was quantized, = hf. Plank had since distanced himself from this strange conclusion, but Einstein realized that h was not just a mathematical patch. Rather, it implied that electromagnetic radiation (light) was composed of discrete particles, each with energy = hf, and he called these particles photons. b. Einsteins particle theory of light offered a neat explanation for the photoelectric effect, unexplained since its 1839 discovery in France. In 1921 Einstein won the Nobel Prize for his theory of photons. 6. Confronted with undeniable evidence that light must be both a particle and a wave, physicists of the 1920s developed the concept of wave-particle duality to describe the nature of light. This non-intuitive conclusion is one of many that illustrates the fundamental weirdness of the quantum mechanical world.

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Christiaan Huygens Model of Diffraction

(Diffraction through an opening in a barrier)
When one drops a pebble into the water, a series of circular periodic waves travel outward from the impact. Huygens generalized this result into a principle which states each of the infinite number of points on any wavefront acts as a source of circular waves, called wavelets, like those from a pebble dropped into the water. The top diagram shows seven straight wavefronts. At the third wavefront from the top, circular wavelets generated from point sources along the third wavefront are drawn. Note that the circular wavelets have the same wavelength as the straight wavefronts had. The wavelets superimpose and only add constructively at the location of the next wavefront, i.e. the second wavefront from the top. (Note that since waves are assumed to travel in the direction indicated by the velocity vector, the other wavefront generated at the location of the fourth line from the top is ignored.) The second diagram from the top shows the same straight wavefronts approaching a barrier that has a large opening compared to the wavelength of the wave. The wave energy that hits the barrier simply reflects back (not shown here). The wavefront in between the edges of the barrier generates plenty of circular wavelets to add up to a straight wavefront except at the edges of the opening. At the edges of the opening, the circular wavelets created from the outer points do not have other wavelets to the outside to interact with. The overall result is a mostly straight wavefront passing through the opening with just a bit of curving at the edges, as only a bit of the wave energy spreads out behind the barrier. The bottom diagram shows the outcome if the size of the opening in the barrier is comparable to the wavelength of the wave. In this case, the wavefront behind the barrier has a relatively short segment that is straight and most of the propagated wave is curved. The wavefronts behind the barrier appear nearly semi-circlar. Summary: When the size of the opening in a barrier is large compared to the wavelength of the wave, relatively little diffraction occurs. When the opening is comparable to or smaller than the wavelength, much diffraction occurs, and the waves appear circular.

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Christiaan Huygens Model of Diffraction

(Diffraction around an obstacle)
The top diagram shows straight wavefronts approaching an obstacle that is large compared to the wavelength of the wave. The wave energy that hits the obstacle simply reflects back (not shown here). The wavefronts on either side of the obstacle generate plenty of circular wavelets to add up to a straight wavefront except in the region directly behind the obstacle. At the edges of the obstacle, the circular wavelets created from the outer points do not have other wavelets behind the obstacle to interfere with. The overall result is a straight wavefront on each side of the obstacle with curved wavefronts around the edges, as some of the wave energy spreads into the region behind the obstacle. The bottom diagram shows the outcome if the size of the obstacle is comparable to the wavelength of the wave. In this case, the straight wavefronts continue on either side of the obstacle; and the outside edge points of the obstacle are so close to each other that the associated circular wavelets on the two sides overlap substantially. The wave fills in almost completely behind the obstacle, there is no shadow cast; however, the superposition of the wavelets behind the obstacle creates an diffraction pattern. In the limit that the obstacle is much smaller than the wavelength, very little diffraction occurs, and it is as though the obstacle isnt there at all! Summary: When the size of an obstacle is much larger than the wavelength of a wave, relatively little diffraction occurs and the obstacle effectively blocks the wave energy from the region behind it. When the size of an obstacle comparable to the wavelength of a wave, the wave bends around each side of the obstacle and creates a substantial diffraction pattern. When the obstacle is much smaller than the wavelength, it has very little effect on the wave.

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Answers to Questions: Exploration 1: The "shadow" from a strand of hair 1. Carefully sketch the pattern of the light on the screen with the laser aimed at the hair.

2. Does the pattern on the screen look like a shadow of the hair? Explain. No. There are several bright and dark fringes, rather than one dark line like a shadow. 3. Why do you think the laser beam spreads out when you put the hair in the path of the laser? The light bends, or diffracts, around each side of the hair and spreads out. 4. What direction does the laser beam spread relative to the orientation of the hair? The beam spreads perpendicular to the direction of the hair. Exploration 2: Light between two pencils 1. Carefully sketch the pattern of the light on the screen with the laser aimed through the slit.

2. Does the pattern on the screen look like a shadow of the slit? Explain. No. There are several bright and dark fringes, rather than one bright line with darkness on either side like a shadow. 3. What happens to the pattern when you squeeze the pencils to make the slit narrower? The pattern of bright and dark fringes becomes wider as the slit becomes narrower. 4. How does the pattern of the slit compare to the pattern of the hair? The pattern of the slit is the same as the pattern of the hair. This is an example of Babinets Principle, named for the man who mathematically proved that an object and its inverse always have the same diffraction pattern. Exploration 3: Wire meshes 1. Record your data in the first two columns of the table. Calculate the distance d between adjacent wires in the mesh and put your answers in the third column. Mesh Coarse Medium Fine Finest Distance between nearest bright dots in diffraction pattern (x) 2.5 mm 5.5 mm 8.0 mm 11 mm Number of wires in one millimeter (n) 2.0 4.0 6.0 8.0 Distance between wires (d = 1/n) 0.50 mm 0.25 mm 0.17 mm 0.13 mm

2. How does the diffraction pattern change as the wires get closer together? The features of the diffraction pattern spread out, i.e. the distance between the dots grows. 3. What is the mathematical relationship between x and n? They are directly proportional to each other.
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4. What is the mathematical relationship between x and d? They are inversely related to each other. 5. Predict the distance between nearest bright dots in the diffraction pattern if you had a mesh with 10 wires per mm. Show work. Since x and n are directly proportional, x1 x 2 x2 11 mm or = = 8.0 wires/mm 10 wires/mm n1 n2 Solving for x2 gives 14 mm. Exploration 4: Diffraction gratings 1. Organize your data in the first two columns of the table. Calculate the ratio x/L. x 8.8 cm 7.0 cm 10.5 cm L 10. cm 8.0 cm 12 cm x/L 0.88 0.88 0.88

2. Why did you have to move the display screen closer to see the diffraction pattern? The lines in the diffraction grating are much closer together than the wires of the mesh; therefore, the features in the diffraction pattern of the grating are much farther apart. 3. As you changed the distance between the screen and the grating L, what remained constant? The ratio x/L remained constant. 4. What does your answer to question 3 imply about the angle (see diagram above)? The angle also remains constant. Challenge 1: Measure CD and DVD track spacing 1. Fill in the data table with measured distances x1 and L. Calculate x1/L and use this to find the angle 1 with the formula 1 = tan 1 ( x1 L ) . Media CD DVD x1 (cm) 6.75 11.20 L (cm) 14.50 8.20 x1/L 0.466 1.37 1 25.0 53.9

2. The wavelength of the red laser is approximately 670 nm. Use the diffraction formula to calculate the distance between tracks for a CD and a DVD. Show your work. The diffraction equation is: n = d sin n For the CD and DVD, n = 1, and solving for d gives:

d = sin 1
Substituting the values of 1 from the chart and = 670 nm, d is the track spacing:
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CD track spacing 1.610-6 m or 1.6 m DVD track spacing 7.110-7 m or 0.71 m 3. Use the images below to measure the track spacing on a CD and a DVD. Write your answer in the blanks provided. CD track spacing __1.5 m____ DVD track spacing __0.73 m_ 4. How do your answers for questions (2) and (3) compare? Can you explain any discrepancies? The values for the CD and DVD track spacings as determined by diffraction and by SEM images are the same to within the uncertainty of these measured values. The accepted values for track spacing are 1.6 m on a CD and 0.74 m on a DVD. 5. A CD can store 0.65 gigabytes whereas a DVD can store 4.7 gigabytes of information. How does the DVD store more information in the same size area? The DVD tracks are closer together than a CD, so it has a greater total length of track in which to store information. The smaller track width of the DVD also implies that its bits of information are more compact and that it can store more data per given length of track. Challenge 2: Is your hair thicker than mine? 1. Describe your experimental procedure (include diagrams): Place each hair in the beam of the laser and measure the width of the central maximum (from dark fringe on one edge to dark fringe on the other). The narrower the central maximum, the wider the hair. 2. Record your data (neatly organized) and write any calculations: Answers will vary. If students actually calculate the width of their hairs, answers will vary approximately from 50 to 80 m. 3. Write your conclusion: Answers will vary depending on the results of calculations in part (2). Challenge 3: What is the diameter of a lycopodium spore? 1. Describe your experimental procedure (include diagrams): Shine the laser through spores thinly dispersed on a glass slide and onto a display screen. Record the wavelength of the laser, the distance to the screen, and the width of the central maximum (center of dark fringe on one side to center of dark fringe on the other side). 2. Record your data (neatly organized) and write any calculations: The data are: Diameter of central bright spot = 2x1 = 1.1 cm, so x1 = 0.55 cm Distance of spores to screen = L = 23.5 cm From Challenge 1,

1 = tan 1 ( x1 L ) = tan 1 (0.55 23.5) = 1.3

If students simply apply the diffraction formula for a single slit, they will get d = sin 1 = (670 nm ) sin 1.3 = 29 m

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If students use the more accurate diffraction formula for a circular object 1.22 = d sin where d is the diameter of the circular object and is the angle to the first minimum, they will get d = 1.22 sin = 1.22(670 nm) sin 1.3 = 35 m Measured with a microscope, Lycopodium spores from various plants range from 25 to 40 m in diameter. 3. Write your conclusion: The diameter of a Lycopodium spore is 35 m. Tips for Teachers: Remind students to be careful handling the lasers, to keep them lower than eye level, and to block the beam with the display screen. When students work with the wire meshes, check that the mesh is flat and oriented perpendicular to the laser beam. If the mesh has substantial curvature or deviates significantly from perpendicular orientation, additional bright spots will occur in the diffraction pattern that complicate interpretation. When viewing the diffraction pattern of the lycopodium spores, make the room as dark as possible. The rings surrounding the central bright spot are much dimmer than it and cannot easily be seen with a lot of background light falling on the viewing screen. A green laser, which appears brighter than a red laser, can help with viewing the diffraction pattern. However, only the teacher should handle the green laser due to the greater potential for eye damage.

Special Notes: Some of the original ideas for activities in this lab are taken from a lesson developed by the Cornell Center for Materials Research entitled, Diffraction and Interference of Light.

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DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT
What is the nature of light? Is it a wave? Is it a particle? Isaac Newton (1642-1727) thought that light must be a particle. He noticed that light makes sharp-looking shadows of objects. This can be explained by particles of light that travel in straight lines until they are stopped by some object that lies in their path.
paths of light particles display screen light light particles come from a distant source dark (shadow) light

Waves, such as water wave and sound waves, can bend around obstacles in their path. For example, you can hear someone talking around a corner. This bending is called diffraction. When waves are diffracted (bent), they collide with other waves and interfere to form interesting patterns called diffraction patterns.
paths of wavefronts display screen

waves come from a distant source

bent waves interfere and form a diffraction pattern

Christiaan Huygens (1629-1695) thought light must be a wave because it reflects and refracts like sound and water waves do. He attempted to correct Newton and pointed out that if wavelength of light were small enough, the diffraction or bending would be a very small effect and for most objects and sharp-looking shadows would occur. Due to Newton's greater status within the scientific community, his particle theory of light dominated through the 1700s. But was Newton right? You get to decide with the aid of a modern invention, the laser. The laser produces an intense, parallel beam of light at a single wavelength, which is ideal for investigating the fundamental nature of light.

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Exploration 1: The "shadow" from a strand of hair

(top view)
sample holder

display screen path of laser ~2 meters slide mount with hair

binder clip

laser

Instructions: Take a piece of your hair and tape across the opening of an empty slide frame and clip it with the binder clip of the sample holder. Clip the two large binder clips on the sides of the display screen at the bottom and place the display screen 2 meters from the hair. Put the laser underneath the rubber bands on the mounting block, and aim the laser at the hair and the screen. Use the binder clip to clamp the laser on, and adjust the laser as necessary to strike the hair directly. Observe the laser light on the screen and answer the following questions. Questions: 1. Carefully sketch the pattern of the light on the screen with the laser aimed at the hair.

2. Does the pattern on the screen look like a shadow of the hair? Explain.

3. Why do you think the laser beam spreads out when you put the hair in the path of the laser? 4. What direction does the laser beam spread relative to the orientation of the hair?

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Exploration 2: Light between two pencils

(side view) display screen path of laser 2 meters laser mount pencils

binder clip

laser

Instructions: Construct a narrow slit using two pencils and two rubber bands, as shown below:
loop each rubber band once around one pencil, then wrap tightly around both narrow slit

Rest the erasers of the pencils on the table so that the laser shines through the narrow slit between them. Position the screen 2 meters behind the pencils. Observe the pattern of the light that falls on the screen. Try squeezing the pencils gently together to decrease the slit size. Observe any changes to the pattern of light on the screen.

Questions: 1. Carefully sketch the pattern of the light on the screen with the laser aimed through the slit.

2. Does the pattern on the screen look like a shadow of the slit? Explain.

3. What happens to the pattern when you squeeze the pencils to make the slit narrower?

4. How does the pattern of the slit compare to the pattern of the hair?

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Exploration 3: Wire meshes

(top view) display screen path of laser ~2 meters wire mesh
sample holder

binder clip

laser

Instructions: Find the coarsest mesh and clamp it in the sample holder. Place the display screen 2 meters from the mesh. Aim the laser perpendicular to the mesh so that it shines through the mesh onto the screen. Observe the pattern on the display screen. Record the distance x between nearest bright dots on the display screen. Place a clear plastic ruler on top of the mesh and use the handheld microscope to measure the number of wires n in one millimeter of the mesh. Record in the chart. Repeat for the other wire meshes. Questions: 1. Record your data in the first two columns of the table. Calculate the distance d between adjacent wires in the mesh and put your answers in the third column. Mesh Coarse Medium Fine Finest 2. How does the diffraction pattern change as the wires get closer together? 3. What is the mathematical relationship between x and n? 4. What is the mathematical relationship between x and d? 5. Predict the distance between nearest bright dots in the diffraction pattern if you had a mesh with 10 wires per mm. Show work. Distance between nearest bright dots in diffraction pattern (x) Number of wires in one millimeter (n) Distance between wires (d = 1/n)

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Exploration 4: Diffraction gratings

(top view)
sample holder

laser

x
display screen

diffraction grating

L
Instructions: Find the diffraction grating marked 1000 lines/mm and clamp it in the sample holder. Place the display screen about 10 cm from the diffraction grating. Aim the laser perpendicular to the grating so that it shines through the grating and onto the screen. Observe the pattern on the display screen. Measure and record the distance x from the central bright spot to the nearest bright spot (either side is OK). Measure and record the distance L from the diffraction grating to the display screen. Move the display screen two additional times and record x and L for each new configuration. Questions: 1. Organize your data in the first two columns of the table. Calculate the ratio x/L. x L x/L

2. Why did you have to move the display screen closer to see the diffraction pattern? 3. As you changed the distance between the screen and the grating L, what remained constant? 4. What does your answer to question 3 imply about the angle (see diagram above)?

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The Diffraction Formula:

Approximation (small angles only): For two or more slits (identical, evenly spaced slits): = wavelength x = the distance between the center of the zeroth order antinode (bright fringe) and the nth order antinode, measured along the screen surface n = the order of the antinode being viewed d = the distance between the centers of the slits L = the perpendicular distance from the slits to the screen n = the angular deviation from the 0th order antinode to the nth order antinode on the screen For one slit: x = distances as above, but measured to nodes (dark fringes) n = the order of the node being viewed d = the width of the slit n = the angular deviation as above, but measured to nodes Two or more slits
(top view)

dxn L

For all angles:

n = d sin n

d
two or more slits

x2 x1

2 1

parallel light wavelength

object with narrow slits

display screen

L
One slit
(top view)

d
one slit

x2 x1

2 1
parallel light wavelength
object with narrow slit

display screen

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Challenge 1: Measure CD and DVD track spacing

The closely spaced, parallel tracks of a CD and DVD act just like a diffraction grating. You can use the diffraction pattern to find the distance between the tracks.
sample holder

(top view)

x1

laser

1 1 L

CD/DVD

display screen

Instructions: Clamp the CD in the sample holder. Orient the bare section of the CD with the reflective coating removed so that it is opposite the binder clip. Adjust the height of the CD so that the laser beam falls in the bare section. See diagram below.
(side view) binder clip sample holder sector with aluminum removed

laser beam

Place the display screen about 20 cm from the CD. Adjust CD and screen so both are perpendicular to the laser beam and the diffraction pattern is symmetrical. Measure and record the distance x1 between the central bright dot and the nearest bright dot (either side) in the diffraction pattern. Measure and record the distance L from the CD to the display screen. Repeat the same procedure for the DVD. You may need to move the display screen closer to observe the diffraction pattern.
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Questions: 1. Fill in the data table with measured distances x1 and L. Calculate x1/L and use this to find the angle 1 with the formula 1 = tan 1 ( x1 L ) . Media CD DVD 2. The wavelength of the red laser is approximately 670 nm. Use the diffraction formula to calculate the distance between tracks for a CD and a DVD. Show your work. x1 (cm) L (cm) x1/L 1

CD track spacing _______ DVD track spacing ______ 3. Use the images below to measure the track spacing on a CD and a DVD. Write your answer in the blanks provided. CD DVD

Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) images of a CD (left) and a DVD (right) taken at 2000X with 5 kV beam voltage. The CD has been stamped with data, while the DVD is blank. Note the 20 m scale bar at the bottom of both images. Images courtesy of Dr. David Tanenbaum, Pomona College.

CD track spacing _______

DVD track spacing ______

4. How do your answers for questions (2) and (3) compare? Can you explain any discrepancies? 5. A CD can store 0.65 gigabytes whereas a DVD can store 4.7 gigabytes of information. How does the DVD store more information in the same size area?

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Challenge 2: Is your hair thicker than mine?

Instructions: Secure a few pieces of human hair (one of your own!). Devise and write a procedure to determine which hair is thickest, which is thinnest, and order the hairs according to thickness. Make measurements and record your data below. Then write your conclusion. 1. Describe your experimental procedure (include diagrams):

2. Record your data (neatly organized) and write any calculations:

3. Write your conclusion:

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Challenge 3: What is the diameter of a lycopodium spore?

Instructions: Carefully open the container of lycopodium spores (from the lycopodium clubmoss) and sprinkle a small amount on the glass slide provided. The slide supports the spores so that you can shine light at them. Devise and write a procedure to estimate the diameter of the lycopodium spores, which are fairly uniform in size and roughly spherical. Try to get the room as dark as possible to see the diffraction pattern of the spores. Record your data and calculations below. Then write your answer. 1. Describe your experimental procedure (include diagrams):

2. Record your data (neatly organized) and write any calculations:

3. Write your conclusion:

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