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Chapter 9

The document summarizes key aspects of the wave nature of light from Chapter 9, including: 1) Waves transport energy but not matter and periodic waves repeat at regular intervals. Light behaves as a wave and can interfere as shown by Young's double-slit experiment. 2) In Young's experiment, light passes through two slits and the waves recombine at a screen, with constructive and destructive interference creating bright and dark fringes. 3) The path length difference between waves must be an integer multiple of the wavelength for constructive interference, allowing wavelength to be determined from fringe spacing.

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Junyi Ji
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52 views

Chapter 9

The document summarizes key aspects of the wave nature of light from Chapter 9, including: 1) Waves transport energy but not matter and periodic waves repeat at regular intervals. Light behaves as a wave and can interfere as shown by Young's double-slit experiment. 2) In Young's experiment, light passes through two slits and the waves recombine at a screen, with constructive and destructive interference creating bright and dark fringes. 3) The path length difference between waves must be an integer multiple of the wavelength for constructive interference, allowing wavelength to be determined from fringe spacing.

Uploaded by

Junyi Ji
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 PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Chapter 9

The Wave Nature of Light


9.1 properties of waves and light
Waves: Water waves, mechanical waves, seismic waves

Definition: A wave is a propagating dynamic disturbance, transports energy from one


place to another but does not necessarily transport matter.

Periodic wave: a wave that repeats itself at regular intervals.

wave front: the continuous line or surface at the start


phase: the offset of the wave from a reference point
The universal wave equation 通用波动方程
Reflection
ray approximation: treating the propagation of light waves as though they move in
straight lines called rays
reflection: a change in direction of a light ray when it meets an obstacle where the
incoming ray and the outgoing ray are on the same side of the obstacle
normal: the line drawn at a right angle to the boundary at the point where an incident
ray strikes the boundary
angle of incidence: the angle between the incident ray and the normal
angle of reflection: the angle between the reflected ray and the normal
Snell’s Law
n: index of refraction
Angle of Refraction for Light from a Vacuum into Glass
Types of reflection
specular reflection: the reflection of light from a surface where all the reflected rays
are in the same direction

diffuse reflection: the reflection of light from a surface where all the reflected rays
are directed in many different directions
9.5 Young’s Double-Slit experiment
This arrangement satisfies the general conditions required
· Light behaves as a wave to create wave interference:
• The interfering waves travel through different regions of
· measure wavelength space (in this case they travel through two different slits).
• The waves come together at a common point where they
interfere (in this case the screen).
• The waves are coherent (in this case they come from the
same monochromatic source).
The bright and dark fringes
are alternate regions of
constructive and destructive
interference, respectively.
maxima: points of brightness, or
maximum intensity, in an interference
pattern
minima: points of darkness, or
minimum intensity, in an interference
pattern
Analyze the interference
Assumptions:

P: random point on the screen; L: distance between slits and the screen;

L1, L2: path lengths of light; d: split spacing, L>>d, d>>the wavelength; ∆L = L2-L1

Since L is large, the angles that specify the directions from the slits to point P are
approximately equal, so both are shown as θ.
Analyze the interference –– path length difference
For the two waves to be in phase when they reach the screen, and thus for
constructive interference to occur, this path length difference needs to be a
whole number of wavelengths.

∆L = d • sinθ = m • wavelength, m = 0, 1, 2, 3…
Analyze the interference
Determining the Wavelength of a Light Source
Determining Slit Separation

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