A Simple Guide to the Wonders of Light: Superposition, Interference,

and Diffraction

Light, the very essence of how we perceive the world, behaves in fascinating ways that are
not always obvious in our everyday lives. This guide provides a straightforward explanation of
key concepts in wave optics, from how light waves interact with each other to the fundamental
limits of what we can see.

1. The Superposition Principle: Waves Meeting and Greeting

Imagine two ripples meeting on the surface of a calm pond. What happens when they cross?
They don't crash and destroy each other; instead, their heights add up at the point of
meeting. This is the Principle of Superposition.

In simple terms, when two or more waves of the same kind overlap at a point in space, the
resulting wave's displacement (or amplitude) at that point is the sum of the individual wave
displacements.
●​ Constructive Interference: If the crests of two waves meet, they combine to create a
bigger crest. The waves are said to be "in phase."
●​ Destructive Interference: If the crest of one wave meets the trough of another, they
cancel each other out. The waves are "out of phase."

2. Interference of Light: The Dance of Light Waves

Interference is a direct consequence of the superposition principle applied to light waves. For
us to see a stable and clear interference pattern, the light sources must be coherent. This
means the waves they emit have a constant phase difference and the same frequency.

There are two main ways to create coherent sources of light to observe interference:

a) Division of Wavefront
In this method, a single wavefront (a surface of constant phase) is split into two or more parts,
which then travel along different paths and reunite to produce interference.

Fresnel's Bi-prism Experiment: A classic example of the division of wavefront.

●​ What it is: A bi-prism is essentially two thin prisms joined at their bases.
●​ How it works: A single light source is placed in front of the bi-prism. The bi-prism splits
the light into two virtual coherent sources. These two "imaginary" sources then produce
an interference pattern of alternating bright and dark bands, called fringes, on a screen.
●​ Significance: It's a clever way to create two coherent sources from one, demonstrating
the wave nature of light.

b) Division of Amplitude

Here, the amplitude (or intensity) of a light wave is divided into two or more parts, usually by
partial reflection and refraction. These separate beams travel different paths and then
interfere.

Wedge-Shaped Film:
●​ What it is: Imagine two flat glass plates placed together with a very thin object, like a
hair, at one end. This creates a thin, wedge-shaped film of air between the plates.
●​ How it works: When light shines on the film, some of it reflects from the top surface of
the air wedge, and some reflects from the bottom surface. These two reflected rays
interfere, creating a pattern of straight, parallel bright and dark fringes. The thickness of
the air film determines whether the interference is constructive or destructive.

Newton's Rings:
●​ What it is: This phenomenon is observed when a plano-convex lens (a lens with one flat
and one curved surface) is placed on a flat glass plate. This creates a thin, circular air film
between the lens and the plate, with the thickness increasing as you move away from the
center point of contact.
●​ How it works: Similar to the wedge-shaped film, light reflects from the top and bottom
surfaces of this air film. The interference of these reflected rays produces a pattern of
concentric bright and dark rings, known as Newton's rings. The center is dark due to a
phase shift of π (180°) that occurs upon reflection at the denser medium (the bottom
glass plate).
●​ Applications:
○​ Determining the Wavelength of Light (λ): By measuring the diameters of the dark
 or bright rings and knowing the radius of curvature of the lens, one can accurately
calculate the wavelength of the light used. The diameter of the nth dark ring (Dn​) is
related to the wavelength (λ) and the radius of curvature of the lens (R) by the
formula: Dn2​=4nRλ.
○​ Determining the Refractive Index (μ): If a liquid is introduced into the air gap, the
rings shrink. By measuring the diameters of the rings with and without the liquid, the
refractive index of the liquid can be determined. The formula becomes: Dn2​=μ4nRλ​.

Fringe Shift:

When a thin, transparent sheet (like a piece of mica or glass) is placed in the path of one of
the interfering beams (for instance, in front of one of the slits in a Young's double-slit
experiment), the entire interference pattern shifts. This is because the light ray traveling
through the sheet slows down, which changes its optical path. The amount of shift depends
on the thickness and refractive index of the sheet.

3. Diffraction of Light: Bending Around Corners

Have you ever noticed how you can hear someone talking around a corner, but you can't see
them? This is because sound waves bend around obstacles, a phenomenon called
diffraction. Light also diffracts, but because its wavelength is so small, the effect is not as
noticeable in our daily lives. Diffraction is the slight bending of light as it passes around the
edge of an object or through a narrow opening.

a) Fraunhofer Diffraction from a Single Slit

When light passes through a narrow single slit, it spreads out and creates a diffraction pattern
on a screen. This pattern consists of:
●​ A central bright maximum which is much wider and brighter than the other maxima.
●​ Secondary maxima on either side, which are dimmer and narrower.
●​ Minima (dark fringes) between the maxima.

This pattern occurs because different points across the single slit act as individual sources of
light that interfere with each other. The condition for the first minimum is given by asinθ=λ,
where 'a' is the slit width, θ is the angle of diffraction, and λ is the wavelength of light.
b) Diffraction Grating

A diffraction grating is a surface with a large number of equally spaced, parallel slits or
grooves.
●​ How it works: When light passes through a grating, each slit acts as a source of
diffracting waves. The interference of these waves from all the slits produces a pattern of
very sharp and bright principal maxima, separated by wide dark regions.
●​ Advantage over a prism: A grating separates different colors (wavelengths) of light
much more effectively than a prism, making it a crucial component in spectrometers used
to analyze the composition of materials and stars. The condition for the principal maxima
is given by the grating equation: dsinθ=nλ, where 'd' is the distance between adjacent
slits, θ is the angle of diffraction, 'n' is the order of the maximum, and λ is the wavelength
of light.

4. Resolving Power: The Limit of What We Can See

The ability of an optical instrument, like a telescope or a microscope, to distinguish between

two closely spaced objects is called its resolving power. Due to diffraction, the image of a
point source of light is not a single point but a diffraction pattern (an Airy disk).

Rayleigh's Criterion for Limit of Resolution

This criterion provides a way to determine if two closely spaced objects can be seen as
separate. It states that two images are just resolved when the central maximum of the
diffraction pattern of one image falls directly on the first minimum of the diffraction pattern of
the other.
●​ If the patterns are farther apart, they are well resolved.
●​ If they are closer, they are unresolved and appear as a single blurry image.

The resolving power is the reciprocal of the limit of resolution. For a telescope, a larger
aperture (diameter of the objective lens or mirror) leads to a better resolving power, allowing it
to distinguish between stars that are very close together. For a microscope, using light with a
shorter wavelength (like ultraviolet light) or increasing the numerical aperture of the objective
lens improves its resolving power, enabling it to reveal finer details of a specimen.