Optics

 Optics:

Optics is the branch of Physics which involves the behavior and properties of light,
including its interactions with matter and the construction of instruments that use or
detect it. Optics usually describes the behavior of visible, ultraviolet and infrared light.

 Light:

Light is electromagnetic radiation within a certain portion of the electromagnetic

spectrum. The word usually refers to visible light, which is visible to the human eye and
is responsible for the sense of sight. Visible light is usually defined as
having wavelengths in the range of 400-700 nanometers (nm).

 Properties of light:

The properties of light are described below:

i) Reflection

ii) Refraction

iii) Dispersion

iv) Velocity (3×108 ms-1 in

vacuum)

v) Total internal reflection

vi) Interference

vii) Diffraction

viii) Scattering of light

ix) Polarization
Theories of Light:

Many theories are proposed over the discovery of various effects of light. Though
the light is in existence since the existence the existence of sun but all the effects of
light are not discovered since early 15th century A.D. these theories explain how
the light is and how the light transmits. Some of the most important theories on
light are

1) Newton’s corpuscular theory 3) Maxwell’s electromagnetic wave theory

2) Huygen’s wave theory 4) Planck’s quantum theory

Newton’s corpuscular theory:

A source of light continuously emits tiny elastic particles called corpuscles. These
particles or the corpuscles moves with high velocity as that of light and gets
scattered in all directions of light. This theory says that the velocity of light
changes with the change in density of the medium in which it is used. This theory
could explain three main phenomena of light that is reflection, refraction, and
rectilinear propagation of light. This theory also says that the color of light is
dependent on the size of the corpuscles.

Some of the main drawbacks of this theory are:

1) This theory could not explain the phenomena of interference, diffraction, and
polarization of light etc.

2) According to this theory the velocity of light in denser medium is greater than
the velocity of light in rarer medium but this is proved wrong later.

3) This theory assumes that the source of light loses the mass as it emits
corpuscles; but not such determent in mass of the source of light is detected.

4) This theory proposes that velocity of the corpuscles increases as the temperature
of the source increases as the temperature increases experiments have proved that
the velocity of light is independent of temperature.
Huygen’s wave theory:

The locus of all medium particles vibrating in the same phase is called a wave
front. Each point in a source of light sends out waves in all directions in
hypothetical medium called ether. Ether was assumed to be a continuous medium,
which provides all space having very large elasticity, and extremely low density,
which is homogeneous and isotropic. This theory assumes that the light waves are
mechanical and transverse in nature. This theory is successful in explaining the
phenomena of reflection, refraction, interference and diffraction phenomena of
light. This theory also assumes in similar to the previous theory that the velocity of
light is dependent on the density of the medium but color depends on the
wavelength of the light.

Drawbacks:

1) There is no existence of medium ‘ether’.

2) It falls to explain polarization, photoelectric effect and Compton Effect.

3) It fails to explain why light has no longitudinal component.

Maxwell’s electromagnetic wave theory:

The electric and magnetic fields in an electromagnetic wave are continuously

varying with respect to time and space. At any instant electric and magnetic fields
are perpendicular to each other and also perpendicular to the direction of light. The
electromagnetic wave is a transverse wave. At every point in the wave at a given
instant of time the electric and magnetic field strengths are equal. The velocity of
propagation of electromagnetic wave depends on the electric and magnetic
properties of the medium.

The main drawback of this theory is it failed to explain the photo electric effect and
Compton Effect. Electromagnetic theory also failed in explaining the black body
radiation
Planck’s Quantum theory:

According to this theory, light energy is released from source discretely in the form
of energy packets of specific frequencies called photons or quanta. Photons are
propagated as waves and if necessary interact with matter as particles (for example
Compton Effect, photoelectric effect and blackbody radiation). The main drawback
of this theory is it could not explain how it is connected with wave nature of light.

de – Broglie’s Dual Theory:

Light waves have dual nature, wave nature according to Maxwell’s

electromagnetic wave theory and particle nature according to Max-Planck’s
quantum theory. Two natures of light are like the two faces of a coin. In anyone
phenomena only its one nature appears.

Energy of photon = hν = hc/λ

Where, h = Planck’s constant

de-Broglie wave equation is λ = h/p = h/ mv

Where h denotes Planck’s constant.

 Reflection of light:

When light travelling in a medium encounters a boundary leading to a second

medium, the incident light is returned to the first medium from which it came. This
phenomenon is called reflection.
 Surface normal

Incident ray Reflected ray

Laws of reflection:

1. The incident ray, the reflected ray and the normal to the reflection surface at
the point of the incidence lie in the same plane.

2. The angle of reflection is equal to the angle of incidence. i. e, i = r.

Refraction of light:

When a ray of light travelling through a transparent medium, encounters a

boundary leading into another boundary medium, part of the ray is reflected and
part of it enters the second medium. The ray enters the second medium is bent at
the boundary and is said to be refracted.
Laws of refraction:

1. The incident ray, the refracted ray and the normal at the point of incidence
lies in the same plane.

2. The ratio of the sine of the angle of incidence to the sine of angle of
refraction for any two given media is constant. i. e:
𝑠𝑖𝑛 𝑖
µ=
𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑟

where µ is called the refractive index of the medium.

Refractive index:

The refractive index (µ) of a medium is defined as the ratio between the speed of
light in a vacuum and the speed of light in the medium:

𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑣𝑎𝑐𝑢𝑢𝑚
Refractive index =
𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑒𝑑 𝑖𝑛 𝑚𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑢𝑚

𝑐
i. e µ=
𝑣

Mathematical problems:

1. The refractive index of water is 4/3. Calculate the speed of light in water.
Note that the speed of light is vacuum is 3 × 108 m/s.
 Interference
Interference of light:

When two or more coherent waves of light are superposed, the resultant effect is
brightness in certain regions and darkness at other regions. These bright and dark
regions are called fringes. This phenomenon is known as interference.

Some important condition for interference:

1. The two beams of light which interfere must be coherent.

2. The two interfering waves must have the same amplitude.

3. The two beams of light should either have zero phase difference or no phase
difference.

4. The original source must be monochromatic.

5. The fringe width should reasonably be as large as possible so that each

fringe can be recognized distinctly.

6. The two interfering waves must be propagated in almost the same direction.

Coherent sources:

Two sources are said to be coherent if they emit light waves of the same frequency,
nearly the same amplitude and are always in phase with each other. It means that
the two sources must emit radiations of the same color (wavelength).

Types of interference:
(i) Constructive interference.
(ii) Destructive interference.

Constructive interference:

The interference of two or more waves of equal frequency and phase, resulting in
their mutual reinforcement and producing single amplitude equal to the sum of the
amplitudes of the individual waves is called constructive interference.
 Effects of constructive interference:

 In constructive interference, two waves of light reinforce each other.

 In constructive interference, a bright fringe is obtained on the screen

Resultant Wave

Wave 2

Wave 1

(In- phase coherence) (Anti- phase coherence)

Constructive interference Destructive interference

Destructive interference:

Destructive is defined as the interference of two waves of equal frequency and

opposite phase, resulting in their cancellation where the negative displacement of
one always coincides with the positive displacement of the other.

Effects of destructive interference:

 In destructive interference, two waves cancel the effects of each other.

 Due to destructive interference a dark fringe is obtained on the screen.

Young’s Double Slit Experiment

Young’s experiment performed by a narrow parallel slits with monochromatic light

of wavelength 𝜆. 𝑆1and𝑆2 are two narrow slits placed at equidistance from 𝑆. The
light falls on 𝑆1 and 𝑆2 from the slit 𝑆. As the slit 𝑆1 and𝑆2are equidistance from S
the wave reach the slits at the same time.

Let the point where a crest of one wave is superposed on the crest of another wave
is marked by 𝑃1and𝑃2respectively. The points where the crest of one wave is
superposed on the trough of another wave marked by 𝑃3.

If a screen is placed at a certain distance from 𝑆1 and 𝑆2. Solid lines connecting
the points marked 𝑃1𝑆and 𝑃2 intersect the screen at point 𝐵0, 𝐵1. Since the
resultant intensity along these lines is alwaysmaximum, the points 𝐵0,𝐵1 will
appear at bright lines on the screen. The line 𝑃3𝑆 intersect the screen 𝐷1.
Similarly 𝐷1𝑆 lines represent zero intensity and it appears on the screen as dark
lines.

As the experimental arrangement remains undisturbed, the alternate bright and

dark lines on the screen remain stationary. The dark or bright lines are usually
referred to as fringe.

Fig (a): Young’s double slit experiment. Fig (b): Interference pattern

Expression for width of bright fringe/ Finding out the width of interference
fringes:

Consider a narrow monochromatic source S and two pinholes A and B, equidistant

from S (Fig: 2).A and B act as two coherent sources separated by a distance d. Let a
screen be placed at a distance D from the coherent source. The point C on the
screen is equidistant from A and B. Therefore, the path difference between the two
waves is zero. Thus the point C has maximum intensity.

Consider a point P at a distance x from C. The waves reach at the point P from A
and B.

d d
Here, PQ  PC  QC  x  , and PR  PC  CR  x 
2 2

 2  2
2 2  d   2  d 
(BP) —(AP) = D   x    D   x  
2

  2    2 
   

Or, (BP)2—(AP)2 = 2 x d

Or, (BP+AP) (BP – AP) = 2 x d

2xd
Or, BP – AP=
BP  AP

But, BP = AP = D (approximately)
2xd xd
So, Path difference = BP-AP= = … … … (i)
2D D

Now we find out the condition for observing bright and dark fringes on the screen.
For Bright Fringes: If the path difference is λ, the point P is bright.

BP – AP = n λ
xd
Using Eqn (i) we can write, =nλ; Where n = 0, 1, 2, 3...
D

n D
Or, x … … … … … .. (ii)
d

For Dark Fringes: If the path difference is equal to λ/2 then the point P is dark.

BP – AP = (2n+1) λ/2
xd
Using Eqn (i) we can write, = (2n+1) λ/2; Where , n = 0, 1, 2, 3...
D

(2n  1) D
Or, x  … … … … … ..(iii)
2d

Problem-1: Light from a sodium vapor lamp 𝝀 = 𝟓𝟖𝟗 𝒏𝒎 forms an

interference pattern on a screen 0.8 m away from a pair of slits. The bright
fringes in the pattern are 0.35 cm apart. What is the slit separation?

𝐒𝐨𝐥𝒏 : We know that,

𝜆𝐷 Here,
𝑋=
𝑑

𝜆𝐷 𝜆 = 589 𝑛𝑚 = 589 × 10−9 m

∴𝑑=
𝑋 𝐷 = 0.8 𝑚
589 × 10−6 × 0.8 𝑋 = 0.35 𝑐𝑚 = 0.35 × 10−2 m
= 𝑚
0.35 × 10−2

= 1.35 × 10−4 m

= 0.135 𝑚𝑚 𝐴𝑛𝑠.
 Diffraction
Diffraction is the slight bending of light as it passes around the edge of an object. The
amount of bending depends on the relative size of the wavelength of light to the size of the
opening. If the opening is much larger than the light's wavelength, the bending will be almost
unnoticeable. However, if the two are closer in size or equal, the amount of bending is
considerable, and easily seen with the naked eye.

Diffractions are two types.

1. Fresnel’s diffraction: If the distance of sources or screen or both from the aperture or
the obstacle causing diffraction is finite then it is called Fresnel’s diffraction. In this case
the wave front is normally spherical.
2. Fraunhofer diffraction: If the distance of sources and screen from the aperture or the
obstacle causing diffraction is infinite then it is called Fraunhofer diffraction. In this case
the wave front is normally plane wave front.
Difference between Fresnel’s and Fraunhofer diffraction

Fresnel’s Diffraction Fraunhofer Diffraction

1 Distance of sources or screen or both from 1 distance of sources and screen from the
the aperture or the obstacle causing aperture or the obstacle causing diffraction
diffraction is finite is infinite

2 Incident wave front is spherical 2 Incident wave front is plane wave front

3 Lenses is not needed here 3 Lenses is needed here

4 Mathematical analysis is difficult 4 Mathematical analysis is easy

5 Setting up at lab is easy 5 Setting up at lab is difficult

Difference between interference and Diffraction of light:

Interference Diffraction

1. Interference is produced when light 1. Diffraction is produced by super

waves emitted from coherent sources position of secondary waves emitted
superpose on each other. from different parts of wave fronts.
2. The width of the interference fringes 2. The width of the diffraction fringes not
may or may not be equal. equal.
3. No light is found in the dark fringes. 3. The dark fringes produced by
diffraction are not completely dark.
4. The intensity of all bright fringes is 4. The intensity of all bright fringes by
equal. diffraction is not equal.

Sample Questions:
1. Define: Diffraction, Fresnel’s and Fraunhofer diffraction
2. Distinguish between Fresnel’s and Fraunhofer diffraction
3. Compare between interference and Diffraction of light:
 Polarization
Polarization of light: The process of confining the vibrations of the electric vector of light
waves to one direction is called polarization and this light is called polarized light. In unpolarized
light the electric field vibrates in all directions perpendicular to the direction of propagation.
After reflection or transmission through certain substances the electric field is confined to one
direction and the radiation is said to be plane-polarized light. The plane of plane-polarized light
can be rotated when it passes through certain substances.

There are three types of polarized light:

1. Plane polarized light

2. Circular polarized light
3. Elliptical polarized light

Polarization of light by Reflection

Polarization of light by reflection from the surface of glass was discovered by Malus in
1808. He found that polarized light is obtained when ordinary light is reflected by a plane sheet
of glass. Consider the light incident along the path AB on the glass surface (Fig. 1O~6). Light is
reflected along BC. In the path of BC, place a tourmaline crystal and rotate it slowly. It will be
observed that light is completely extinguished only at one particular angle of incidence. This
angle of incidence is equal to 57.5° for a glass surface and is known as the polarizing angle.
Similarly polarized light by reflection can be produced from water surface also.
The production of polarized light by glass is explained as follows. The vibrations of the
incident light can be resolved into components parallel to the glass surface and perpendicular to
the glass surface. Light due to the components parallel to the glass surface is reflected whereas
light due to the components perpendicular to the glass surface is transmitted.
 Plane polarized light

 Tourmaline Crystal

Figure: 3

Thus the light reflected by glass is plane polarized and can be detected by a tourmaline crystal.
The polarized light has been analyzed by using another mirror by Biot.

Uses of polarization in FM radio

The term "circular polarization" is often used erroneously to describe mixed polarity
signals used mostly in FM radio (87.5 to 108.0 MHz), where a vertical and a horizontal
component are propagated simultaneously by a single or a combined array. This has the effect of
producing greater penetration into buildings and difficult reception areas than a signal with just
one plane of polarization

Optical activity

There are some materials that can rotate the plane of plane polarized light into a particular
direction. These sorts of material are known as optical active materials and the phenomenon is
known as optical activity.

Specific rotation: the angle of rotation of plane polarized light by a 1.00 gram per cm-3
sample in a 1 dm tube is called specific rotation.
 BREWSTER’S LAW

In 1811, Brewster performed a number of experiments to study the polarization of light by

reflection at the surfaces of different media. He found that ordinary light is completely polarized
in the plane of incidence when it gets itself reflected from a transparent medium at a particular
angle known as the angle of polarization. He was able to prove that the tangent of the angle of
polarization is numerically equal to the refractive index of the medium. Moreover, the reflected
and the refracted rays are perpendicular to each other.

Suppose, the un polarized light is incident at an angle equal to the polarizing angle on the glass surface. It
is reflected along BC and refracted along BD (Fig. 12).

From Snell’s law

sin i
 … (1)
sin r
A C
From Brewster’s law A
i i
sin i Air
  tan i  … (2)
cos i
B
Comparing (i) and (ii)
Glass

r
cos i  sin r  cos (  r) D
2


 i r Fig-4
2

Or, i  r 
2


As, i  r  and  LCBD is also equal to π/2 Therefore, the reflected and the refracted rays are at right
2
angles to each other.
Polarimeter: An instrument used to determine the angle through which the plane of
polarization of plane-polarized light is rotated on passing through an optically active substance.
Essentially, a polarimeter consists of a light source, a polarizer (e.g. a sheet of Polaroid) for
producing plane-polarized light, a transparent cell containing the sample, and an analyzer. The
analyzer is a polarizing material that can be rotated. Light from the source is plane-polarized by
the polarizer and passes through the sample, then through the analyzer into the eye or onto a
light-detector. The angle of polarization is determined by rotating the analyzer until the
maximum transmission of light occurs. The angle of rotation is read off a scale. Simple portable
polarimeters are used for estimating the concentrations of sugar solutions in confectionary
manufacture.

Sample Questions:
1. What is meant by polarization?
2. Explain polarization of light by reflection.
3. Mention the application of polarization.
4. Show that the reflected and the refracted rays are at right angles to each other.