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Light Interference: Calculating Wavelength and Thickness

- A light source illuminates two parallel slits. An interference pattern of bright and dark fringes is observed on a screen. By counting fringes over a known distance, the wavelength is calculated to be 0.56 μm. - A glass plate is then placed behind one slit. This shifts the central fringe but does not change the fringe spacing. By determining the shift of the central fringe, the thickness of the glass plate is calculated to be 5.04 μm.

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Hamad Tlais
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92 views2 pages

Light Interference: Calculating Wavelength and Thickness

- A light source illuminates two parallel slits. An interference pattern of bright and dark fringes is observed on a screen. By counting fringes over a known distance, the wavelength is calculated to be 0.56 μm. - A glass plate is then placed behind one slit. This shifts the central fringe but does not change the fringe spacing. By determining the shift of the central fringe, the thickness of the glass plate is calculated to be 5.04 μm.

Uploaded by

Hamad Tlais
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Third exercise (6.5pts).

Interference of light
Consider a source S of monochromatic light of wavelength λ and a glass plate of parallel faces of
thickness e and of index n =1.5.
The object of this exercise is to determine λ and e using Youngs double slit apparatus.
A- Value of λ M
Youngs double slit apparatus is formed of two very thin and F1 x
parallel slits F1 and F2 , separated by a distance a = 0.15 mm, and a
S O
screen of observation (E) placed parallel to the plane of the slits at
a distance D = 1.5 m from this plane. F2
(
1) Upon illuminating F1 by S and F2 by another independent E
source S synchronous with S, we do not observe a system of )
interference fringes. Why?
2) We illuminate F1 and F2 with S, placed equidistant from F1 and F2 we observe on (E) a system of
interference fringes.
a) Describe this system.
b) At point O of the screen, equidistant from F1 and F2, we observe a bright fringe. Why?
c) It can be shown that for a point M of (E), of abscissa x = OM, the optical path difference in air
ax
or in vacuum is given by δ = F2M - F1M = D .
Determine the expression of xk corresponding to the kth bright fringe and deduce the
expression of the interfringe distance i.
3) We count 11 bright fringes over a distance d = 5.6 cm. Determine the value of λ.
B) Value of e
Now, we place the glass plate just behind the slit F1.
ax
The optical path difference at point M becomes: δ = D - e (n – 1).
1. Show that the interfringe distance i remains the same.
2. a) The central bright fringe is no longer at O. Why?
b)The new position Oof the central bright fringe is the position that was originally occupied by the fifth
dark fringe before introducing the plate. Determine the thickness e of the plate.

1
Third exercise :
- A-1) because the two sources are not coherent (1/2 pt)
2)a) We observe straight fringes that are:
- Rectilinear (1/4 pt)
- Parallel to the slits (1/4 pt)
- equidistant (1/4pt)
alternately bright and dark (1/4pt)
b) Light waves reach o in phase ( or their optical path difference at Ois
zero). (1/2 pt)
ax
δ= =Kλ
c) The abscissa of a bright fringe satisfies the relation : D
(K is a whole number)  the abscissa of the kth bright fringe is :
λD
xK = K a . (1/2 pt)
λD λD λD
i = (K+1) a .- K a = a (3/4pt.)
λD ad
3) d = 10 i = 10 a (1/2pt.)  λ = 10 D (1/4pt.)
 λ = 0.56 μm . (1/2pt.)
ax
'
B) 1) δ = δ - e(n-1) = D - e(n-1)= K’ λ (1/2pt)
'
Bright fringe  δ = K’ λ (1/4 pt)
λD e(n−1) D
 xk’ = K’ a + a
λD λD λD
  i = (K+1) a .- K a = a = i ( the same) (1/4
pt)
ax
'
2) a) δ = D - e(n-1) for x = 0  δ ' = - e(n-1) ≠ 0
(1/4pt)
 the central bright fringe is not at O (1/4pt.)
b) The abscissa xo of the central bright fringe is such that δ' = 0
i
=>xo= 9 2 (1/2 pt)

e(n−1) D
'
δ = 0  x0 = a  e = 9 λ  e = 5.04 m (1/2pt)

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