The wave nature

of lightChristian Huygens (1629 - 1695) was a

Dutch Physicist who proposed a wave
theory of light long before Maxwell's
incredible discoveries.
Wavelet Theory
In 1801, the first experimental evidence
for the wave nature of light came from
an experiment devised by Thomas
Young (1773 1829)
Youngs double slits

The wave nature

of light

Interference
Principle of Superposition

Coherent Sources
Youngs Double slit

Diffraction

Gratings

Polarization
(covered in the previous lesson)

Wave
Fundamentals

Wave Equation

c = f o
c the speed of light

f frequency

o wavelength

In any other medium the speed of propagation is

given by

c
v f
n

n is the refractive index of the medium

v is the speed of light in a medium

Wave
Fundamentals

Two points are said to be in-phase if they behave

exactly the same; that is, if they are a multiple of a
wavelength apart.
If two points are not in-phase, then they are out-ofphase.
Since a wavelength corresponds to one complete
vibration, one wavelength is often expressed as 2
radians.
So in-phase points are separated by 2n. Out-ofphase points can be any number of radians apart. Eg
/2, rad.

Interference of Light
Wave

Interference is the superposing of two or more

waves to give a resultant wave whose amplitude is
given by the Principle of Superposition.

Principle of Superposition
The total displacement at a point
equal to the sum of the individual
displacements at that point.

Interference of Light
Wave
There are two types of

interference:constructive and destructive.

Constructive Interference
occurs when the wave
amplitudes reinforce
each other, building a
wave of even greater
amplitude.

Interference of Light
Wave
There are two types of

http://id.mind.net/~zona/mstm/physics/waves/interf
erence/waveInterference2/WaveInterference2.html

interference

interference:constructive and destructive.

Destructive Interference
occurs when the wave
amplitudes oppose
each other, resulting
in waves of reduced
amplitude.
amplitude

Interference of Light
Wave

An interference pattern is produced provided

a constant phase difference is maintained
between the sources of the waves so that the
points of cancellation and of reinforcement do
not move about.
Sources giving rise to these interference
pattern are said to be coherent, i.e., having
the same frequency and a constant phase
difference.
difference
eg. when one source emits a crest, the other
always emits a crest a set time later.

Interference of Light
Wave
monochromatic light has a unique wavelength and is
represented by a perfect sine wave which would
extend to infinity in time and space.
Laser light is an extremely good approximation to
monochromatic light, some possessing a coherence
length of several kilometres.
White light, on the other hand, is a mixture of
monochromatic waves of widely different wavelengths

Youngs Double Slit

Youngs Double Slit

Youngs Double Slit

Destructive
Constructive
interference
interference at
at PP21

Youngs Double Slit

path difference

= r2 r1 = d sin

Youngs Double Slit

If the rays were in phase
when they passed through the
slits, then the condition for
constructive interference at
the screen is:
S2P S1P = d sin = n
bright fringes
n = 1, 2,......

path difference
= S2P S1P

Youngs Double Slit

the condition for
destructive interference
at the screen is
S2P S1P

= d sin = =(n+
dark fringes
n = 1, 2,......

Youngs Double Slit

The points of
constructive interference
will appear as bright
bands on the screen and
the points of destructive
interference will appear as
dark bands.
bands These dark
and bright spots are called
interference fringes.
fringes

nth bright
fringe

n = +3
n = +2

n = +1 dark fringe,
etc.
n = 0 dark fringe

n = +1
n=0
n = 1
n = 2

Central
bright
fringe
n = 1 dark fringe

n = 3
nth bright fringe

Youngs Double Slit

tan

or

L
y L tan Lsin

where is very small

n
sin
d
d

n L
y
d

L = distance from the screen to

double slit
d = slit separation

Example of interference
Interference patterns of overlapping water waves from two
vibrating spherical sources.

http://id.mind.net/~zona/mstm/physics/waves/interference/twoSource/TwoSourceInt
erference1.html
Two sources interference

Everyday Examples of Interference

(a) Colours of oil films on water

(b) Pulsing of the picture on a television

This occurs when an aircraft
passes low overhead. The
signal travelling directly from
the transmitting to the receiving
aerial interferes with that
reflected from the aircraft