29 Flashcards
For an opening of a given size, is diffraction more pronounced for a longer wavelength or for a shorter wavelength?
Longer wavelengths
What accounts for the different colors in a soap bubble?
Light reflecting from the outer and inner surfaces of the bubble travels different distances.
Is interference restricted to only some types of waves or does it occur for all types of waves?
All types of waves
What aspect of light did Thomas Young demonstrate in his now-famous light experiment?
The principle of superposition known as interference
When waves from a pair of closely-spaced slits arrive in phase
a bright fringe is produced - if the waves arrive out of phase there is a dark region
The superposition of identical waves affects
amplitude
Colors seen when gasoline forms a thin film on water illustrate
interference.
Thomas Young’s two-source interference patterns demonstrate the
wave nature of light.
Which will produce more widely spaced fringes of light when passed through a diffraction grating - light from a red laser or light from a green laser?
light from a red laser
If the path-length difference between two identical and coherent beams is two wavelengths when they arrive on a screen, will they produce a dark or a bright spot?
bright spot
In the double-slit experiment, fringes are more widely spaced when illumination is with monochromatic
low-frequency light.
Huygen’s principle
Every point on a wavefront may be considered the source of secondary wavelets that spread out in all directions with a equal speed to the speed of the propogation of the waves. Wavefronts are made up of tinier wavefronts.
What diffracts more, longer or shorter waves?
Longer
Diffraction
Bending of light that is not reflection or refraction!
The bending of light that passes near the edge of an object or through a narrow slit causing the light to spread. Small opening, fuzzier shadow. Any bending of light that is not reflection or refraction.
Superposition
the overlapping and combining of waves
Interference
The result of superposing different waves, usually of the same wavelength.
If a wave passes through a smaller opening, the bending of the waves at the edges is ________?
greater
What does diffraction depend on?
Wavelength of the wave compared to the size of the obstruction that casts the shadow. Longer waves diffract more.
Thin film interference
Creates a reflection from the upper and lower surfaces (of the surfaces of air between tow glass plates or a thin film of gasoline, ect.)
Why use blue light in a microscope rather than white?
Less diffraction with the shorter wavelength of blue light.
If double slits were illuminated with either blue or red light, which would produce wider spaced fringes?
The red. Longer wavelength.
