\J

WAVE OPTICS

In 1678, the Dutch physicist Christiaan Huygens put forward the wave theory of
light - it is this wave modei of light that. , the wave model could satisfactorily explain
the phenomena of reflection and refraction.Also light can be assumed to approximately
travel in straight lines. Light must be an electromagnetic wave. Maxwell put forward
his famous electromagnetic theory of light. Maxwell had developed a set of equations
describing the laws of electricrtl, and magnetism and using these equations he derived
what is known as the wave equation from which he predicted the existence of
electromagnetic waves.Thus, according to Maxwell, light waves are associated with
changing electric and magnetic fields;

HUYGENS PRINCIPLE

A locus of points, which oscillate in phase is called a wavefront: thus a wavefront is

defined as a surface of constant phase. The speed rvith which the wavefront moves
outwards from the source is called the speed of thewave. The energy of the wave traveis
in a direction perpendicular to the wavefront.

source emitting waves uniformly in all directions, then the

If we have apoint
locus ofpoints which have the same amplitude and vibrate in the same phase are spheres
and we have what is known as a spherical lvave.

distance from the sourse, a small portion of the sphere can be

At a large
considered as a plane and we have what is known as a plane wave.
L

According to Huygens principle, each point of the wavefront is the source of

a secondary disturbance and the wavelets emanating from these
points spread out in all
directions with the speed of the wave. These wavelets emanating from the wavefront
are usually referred to as secondary wavelets and if we draw a commoll tangent
to all
thesespheres,weobtainth"''@avefrontata|atertime.

-\
----4
o (\ -^*_\
Pz-\-.
which is Ehown as Dl D2 in Fig. Huygens argued that
and zero
the amplitude of the secondary wavelets is maximum in the forrvard direction
in the backward direction.So there is no wave front in backward direction.

. Refraction of a plane wave by a thin prism

In prism the speed of light waves is less in glass, the lower portion of the incoming
wavefront (which travels through the greatest thickness of glass) will get delayed
resulting in a tilt in the emerging wavefront as shown in the figure'

lncidenL,
Q\*.ru.-
t!ave-

. Refraction of a plane waYe by a convex lens

On a thin convex lens; the central part of the incident plane wave traverses the
thickest portion of the lens and is delayed the most. The emerging wavefront
has a

depression at the centre and therefore the wavefront becomes spherical and
converges to the point F which is known as the focus

,,\
lnc.xdsob

Ql,*
'0^LL
/
",/ \ 't ob
Jurle 8r^l-
sf*'*u'J,T=
 r Refraction of a plane w-ave by a Concave mirror
a plane wave is incident on a concave mirror and on reflection we have a

mwfot 2bdb,l L
i,"ui{w,i-
Cu,aoo,n}e-
T
3)"v
/ w*ut>
Superposition Principle Gt rn u)a.ue t'-+ 3^ eO +
According to superposition prinoiple . the resultant displacement produced by a number
of waves in a medium is the vector sum of the displacements produced by each of the
WAVES

Coherent sources

Two sources are said to be coherent if they ernit light waves of same frequency and
same phase or constant phase difTerence

if the two sources are coherent (i.e.. if

the two needles are going up and down
regularly) then the phase difference rp at any point will not change rvith time and we
will have a stable interference pattern; i.e., the positions of maxima and minima wiil not
change with time.

If the phase difference changes very rapidly with time, the positions of maxima
and minima also vary rapidly w'ith time. When the phase difference befween the
will
two vibrating sources changes rapidly with time, lve say that the two sources are
incoherent and when this happens the intensities just add up. This is indeed rvhat
happens when tr,vo separate light sources iiluminate a wall

Tnterference

Interference is the phenomenon in which flvo $'aves superpose to form a resultant wave
of greater or lolrrer amplitude. The interference can be constructive or destructive.

o Condition for constructive interference

\
If the path difference at a point is an integral multiple of )., there will be constructive
interference and a bright fringe is formed at that point

SJ- S.?= n2 Co=orlzL,3..)

fz-e ^S rQ a at
REFRACTION AND REFLECTION OF PLANE WAVES USING HUYGENS
PRINCIPLE
1. Refraction of a plane wave(rarer to denser)
refraction of a plane wave at a rarer medium, i.e., v2 > v1 .(denser to rarer)

The angle of refraction will now be greater than angle of incidence; however, we will still
have n1 sin i = n2 sin r . We define an angle ic by the following equation
Sin ic =n2/n1

Thus, if i = ic then sin r = 1 and r = 90°. Obviously, for i > ic , there can not be any
refracted wave. The angle ic is known as the critical angle and for all angles of incidence
greater than the critical angle, we will not have any refracted wave and the wave will
undergo what is known as total internal reflection. The phenomenon of total internal
reflection
2.Reflection of a plane wave by a plane surface

Consider a plane wave AB incident at an angle i on a reflecting surface MN. If v represents the speed
of the wave in the medium and if Ꞇ represents the time taken by the wavefront to advance from the
point B to C then
+
t
r Condition for destructive interference

If the path difference at a point is an odd integral mutrtiple of Xl2 , there will be

destructive interference and a dark fringe is formed at that point

S1
S-?- Sr? a Q"| )1 I5= ?-rs-2
fn= DrttLr?--) 11
Srtr- grRa -Q..f a lz P-=
INTE EOFL WAYE YOLING'

e. Two sodium lamps illuminating two pinholes cannot produce interference

lringes. Why?

we use two sodium iamps illuminating two pinholes we will not observe any
interference fringes. This is because of the fact that the light wave emitted from an
ordinary source (like a sodium lamp) undergoes,abruptphase changes. Thus the light
waves coming out from two inclependent sources of light will not have any fixed
phaserelationsh rp andwould be incoherent, when this happens,the intensifies on the
screen will add up.

Interference of LiE{rt Waves and Young's Experiment

The British physicist Thomas Young made two pinholes 31 and 32 (very close
to each other) ofi an opaque screen. These were illuminated by another pinholes
which is illuminated by a bright source. Light waves spread out from S and fall on
both 51 and 32. 31 and 32 then behave like fwo coherent sources because light
waves coming out from 31 and 52 are derived from the same original source and
interf'erence pattern with alteraate bright and dark fringes is formed on the ,".".rrG{.Gt\
c,
l?
9t t
t
cx_
---.
T

t
Cst
We r.vill have constructive interlererlcEresulting in a bright region,

%*7 >tv>: 11" D t',:s,trFz..)

INTERFERENCE OF LIGHT WAVES AND YOUNG’S DOUBLE SLIT
EXPERIMENT (YDSE)
The British physicist Thomas Young used an ingenious technique to “lock” the
phases of the waves. emanating from S1 and S2. If two sodium lamps illuminate two
pinholes S1 and S2 , the intensities will add up and no interference fringes will be
observed on the screen.. He made two pinholes S1 and S2 (very close to each other) on
an opaque screen [Fig.]These were illuminated by another pinholes that was in turn, lit
by a bright source. Light waves spread out from S and fall on both S1 and S2 . S1 and
S2 then behave like two coherent sources because light waves coming out from S1 and
S2 are derived from the same original source and any abrupt phase change in S will
manifest in exactly similar phase changes in the light coming out from S1 and S2 . Thus,
the two sources S1 and S2 will be locked in phase; i.e., they will be coherent like the
two vibrating needle in our water wave.The spherical waves emanating from S1 and S2
will produce interference fringes on the screen
DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT
Diffraction is the phenomenon of bending of light around the corners of an obstacle , into the
region of geometrical shadow of the obstacle.
If we look clearly at the shadow cast by an opaque object, close to the region of geometrical
shadow, there are alternate dark and bright regions just like in interference.
This happens due to the phenomenon of diffraction. Diffraction is a general characteristic
exhibited by all types of waves, be it sound waves, light waves, water waves or matter waves.
▪ Since the wavelength of light is much smaller than the dimensions of most obstacles; we do
not encounter diffraction effects of light in everyday observations.
▪ The resolving power of our eye ,telescopes and microscopes are limited due to diffraction.
▪ The colours seen on CD are due to diffraction.
The single slit

When a single narrow slit is illuminated by a monochromatic source, a broad pattern with a
central bright region (central maximum) is seen on the screen. On both sides, there are
alternate dark and bright regions(secondary maxima and secondary minima), the intensity
becoming weaker away from the centre. This is diffraction pattern.