TM

www.aps.org

www.physicscentral.com

Written by Rebec ca Thompson-Flagg

3rd Printing: Jan. 2010 I llustrations by Kerry G. Joh nson
 PHYSICSQUEST:

WELCOME TO PHYSICSQUEST 2010!

History of the PhysicsQuest Program About the PhysicsQuest competition
As part of the World Year of Physics 2005 celebra- APS sponsors an optional PhysicsQuest competi-
tion, the American Physical Society produced tion designed to encourage students to invest in the
PhysicsQuest: The Search for Albert Einstein’s project. If you chose to participate in the competi-
Hidden Treasure. Designed as a resource for tion, your class must complete the four activities and
middle school science classrooms and clubs, the you must submit their answers online by May 16,
quest was received enthusiastically by nearly 2010. This date was chosen because on May 16,
10,000 classes during the course of 2005. Feed- 1960, Theodore Maiman demonstrated the first
back indicated that this activity met a need within working laser. All classes that submit answers
the middle school science community for fun and online will receive a certificate of completion and be
accessible physics material, so the American entered into a prize drawing. Details on the prizes
Physical Society (APS) has decided to continue will be posted on the PhysicsQuest website as they
this program. APS is pleased to present this fifth kit, become available.
PhysicsQuest 2009: Spectra's Power.
The online results submission form requires the
In the past each PhysicsQuest kit follows a answers to all of the questions on the Final Report.
mystery-based storyline and required students to Each class can only submit one entry form, so class
correctly complete four activities in order to solve discussions of results are encouraged. Answers can
the mystery and be eligible for a prize drawing. This be submitted online through the PhysicsQuest
year students will follow the APS created superhero website beginning February 16, 2010. PhysicsQuest
SPECTRA and her showdown with the villain MISS is designed with flexibility in mind – it can be done in
ALIGNMENT. We hope that the comic book format one continuous session or split up over a number of
will encourage students to learn more about weeks.
physics and complete the four activities.
The activities can be conducted in the classroom or
The American Physical Society as an extra credit or science club activity. The
(APS) is the professional society for challenges can be completed in any order, but to get
professional physicists and physics the correct final result all of the challenges must be
students in the United States. APS
TM completed correctly.
works to advance and disseminate
www.aps.org the knowledge of physics through its Continued on inside back cover >>>

journals, meetings, public affairs efforts, and

educational programs. Information about APS and
its services can be found at www.aps.org.
www.physicscentral.com
APS also runs PhysicsCentral, a website aimed at
communicating the excitement and importance of
physics to the general public. At this site,
www.physicscentral.com, you can find out about
APS educational programs, current physics
research, people in physics, and more.
www.laserfest.org

APS PhysicsQuest Publication Staff

Coordinated, Researched and Written by: Rebecca Thompson-Flagg • Art Direction and Illustrations by Kerry G. Johnson
American Physical Society © 2010 – All Rights Reserved
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero 1
it’s 7:50 a.m. ten minutes before she made it! she even has
the bell rings for her first class. a few minutes to hang with
lucinda hene overslept, she’s her peeps at the usual spot.
about to be late for school. NIKOLA TESLA
MIDDLE SCHOOL

t h e front hallway locker s if you want to be in

the mix and get the
latest school gossip,
you’ve got to be in
“the front.” lucinda’s
spots her crew.

gordy
he’s a superstar
kas on the field and
he’s a charmer; in the classroom.
mr. popularity.
but it doesn’t
go to his head.
loves to play
his guitar with
his garage band. ruby
lucinda’s bff.
she wants to
be an artist.

Okay, I get it! The word is That’s hot! Hey! I like

Look who
I overslept, but Mr. Johnson I didn’t do my physics
decided
I’m here now. is sick. We’ve homework! class.
to show up
What did I miss? got a sub
to school.
today in
physics class.
Whazzup,
Lucinda?
2 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero www.physicscentral.com

Welcome
students!
My name is
Miss Allen.
I’ll be taking
over your
physics class
until
Mr. Johnson
returns.

G-MAN, we’re all aware

of your “fondness”
for physics and sports.

But do you
want to know
what I like?
I like our
sub! Wow!

After reading over

your teacher’s notes,
it looks like you guys are That’s an interesting
studying about the and exciting topic.
importance of lasers. What do any of you
know about lasers?

Hey Miss Allen, ruby!?!

ask Lucinda, both her
parents are famous
laser scientists.
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero 3

That’s very I will, thank you!

interesting! Miss Allen, I’ll let And please be more
Miss Hene, I guess you handle that; respectful to your
you can help me you’re the teachers!
explain to the “professional.”
class about
some of the
laser technology
we have today.

Our modern world would

be completely different if
physicists Arthur Schawlow
and Charles Townes* hadn’t
developed the science
behind the laser in 1952.
The laser has become an
indispensable tool in our
daily lives. Let’s look at some
amazing laser innovations.
* Schawlow and Townes constructed an
optical cavity by placing two highly reflecting
mirrors parallel to each other and positioning
the amplifying medium in between.

Tonight, I want
each of you to visit
the website
www.laserfest.org.

Then I want
you to identify and
write a short essay on
one of the items
shown here.

The images above are

used with permission;
visit www.laserfest.org
for credit information.
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 A1

EXPERIMENT 1 TEACHER’S
Spots, Lines and Lasers GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION: You may often hear it said that light is both a particle and a wave. It is a little better to say that light
has both wave properties an particle properties. In other words, sometimes it acts like a wave and sometimes it acts like
a particle. For the next two experiments we will explore how light acts like a wave. In this experiment we will shine light
through sheets of fabric that all have a different number of threads per inch and look at the patterns. We can use the
pattern to find the wavelength of the laser. Wouldn't Martha Stewart be proud!?

 KEY QUESTION: Using a laser pointer and 4 pieces of cloth, find the wavelength of your laser pointer.

 MATERIALS:  KEY TERMS:

• Laser pointer • Binder Clips (2) • Diffraction Grating Cloth card Wavelength: The distance
• Masking Tape • Large sheet of paper • Ruler from one wave peak to the
• Four small strips next.
of cloth, one white,
one white with black, Diffraction: When light
one yellow, one yellow with black goes around an obstacle or
through a single slit the light
 BEFORE THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW: rays interact with each other.
• Light can act like a wave. When they do, a patterns of
• A laser pointer is a beam of light that is coherent and all the same color. dark and bright spots is
created.
 AFTER THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
• Describe how wave interact Interference: When light
• Explain the pattern formed on the wall when a laser is shined on a human hair passes through two slits and
• Explain how to use this pattern to measure the width of a small obstacle such the light rays from each of
as a human hair. the slits interacts. It is like
• The science behind interference diffraction but involves more
than one slit or obstacle.
 THE SCIENCE BEHIND INTERFERENCE:
Constructive Interference:
Light is both a particle and a wave, or better yet, light has both wave properties and
When two waves come
particle properties. In this kit we will do experiments that will show both sides of light.
together and make a bigger
This experiment is one that shows that light has wave properties.
wave
Lets start by thinking about what happens when waves interact. We will assume that
Destructive Interference:
we are dealing with two waves that have the same wavelength. When two waves come
When two waves come
together they add up to make a resultant wave. If the two waves have crests and troughs
together and cancel each
at the same points, they add up to make a wave that is twice as big as the two individual
other out
waves.This is called "constructive interference." When two waves have crests and
troughs at the same points they are said to be "in phase." If two waves are completely
In Phase: When two waves
"out of phase" which means one wave is up while the other is down, they cancel each
are going up and down
other out. This is called "destructive interference."
together
You have always heard that light always goes in a straight line. Well it does. Except
Out-of-Phase: When one
when it doesn't. When light encounters and obstacle that is really small, only slightly
wave is going up as the
larger than the wavelength of light, it will spread out again as it passes the obstacle, just
other is going down
like water flowing through a small slit. This is called diffraction. When there are two slits
close together the waves interact with each other when they spread out. Light does the
same thing when it passes through two small slits. By looking at when the waves are in phase, how far apart the slits are
and how far the waves have traveled since they passed through the slits we can figure out the wavelength. To do this we
need a formula that explains how all of these variables interact. The wavelength= (the spacing of the slits)x(the distance
between bright spots)/the distance from the cloth to the screen. This is a very powerful formula. It also means that if you
know the wavelength you can figure out what kind of slit the light has gone through. This method is used to figure out the
structure of crystals such as salt and even DNA! Instead of knowing what the material looks like and looking at the pattern,
they know what the pattern looks like and can figure out with the material looks like. This is what the students will do in the
next activity.

In addition to learning about waves, this experiment will give students a chance to learn about the need to preform multiple
trials of an experiment and average the results. It will also give them experience in unit conversion.
A2 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 www.physicscentral.com

EXPERIMENT 1 TEACHER’S
Spots, Lines and Lasers GUIDE
 SAFETY:
Please review these guidelines closely with students before the activity and outline consequences for failure to follow them!
Warn students very strongly about the dangers of looking directly into the laser beam. Shining the beam into their eyes
of the eyes of their classmates can cause serious injury and damage. Consequences for student recklessly playing with
the lasers should be outlined before giving out the supplies for the activity. If you are concerned, you may prefer to complete
the portions of the procedure with the laser for your students and have them do the analysis.

 CORRESPONDING EXTENSION ACTIVITIES:

• Interference on paper.
• How big is the hole?
• Splash it!

 BIBLIOGRAPHY/SUGGESTED RESOURCES??????

Constructive Destructive

THREAD

+ +

THREAD

Screen (wall)

THREAD

Distance
between
black dots

THREAD
Distance to screen
THREAD

THREAD

Distance to screen

This path is one whole wavelength

longer so when waves hit the screen
they are again “in phase”
Screen (wall)
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 A3

EXPERIMENT 1 STUDENT’S
Spots, Lines and Lasers GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION:
You may have heard it said that light is both a wave and a particle. It’s probably better to say
that sometimes when we do experiments with light it acts like a wave and sometimes it acts like
a particle. In this experiment was are going to use a laser and cloth to look at light's wave properties
and even find the wavelength of your laser. Wouldn't Martha Stewart be proud?

 MATERIALS:
• Laser pointer • Binder clips (2) • Diffraction Grating Cloth card
• Tape • Large sheets of paper (4) • Ruler
 KEY TERMS:
• 4 small strips
Wavelength: The distance
of cloth, one white,
from one wave peak to the
one white with black,
next.
one yellow, one yellow with black
Diffraction: When light
 KEY QUESTION:
goes around an obstacle or
Can you find the wavelength of your laser using the pattern formed when you shine
through a single slit the light
the laser through cloth?
rays interact with each other.
When they do, a patterns of
 GETTING STARTED:
dark and bright spots is
1. If you were to put a piece of cloth under a microscope, what would it look like? Draw it!
created.
2. What type of pattern do you think you will see
when you shine the laser through a piece of cloth? Interference: When light
passes through two slits and
3. When two waves come together, and they are the light rays from each of
both going up and down at the same time, what the slits interacts. It is like
would happen? What if one was going up when diffraction but involves more
the other was going down? than one slit or obstacle.

 SETTING UP THE EXPERIMENT: Constructive Interference:

1. Assemble the Diffraction Grating Card as When two waves come
instructed on the card together and make a bigger
wave
2. Attach binder clips so that the card can stand
unsupported. Destructive Interference:
When two waves come
3. Place the card several meters from the wall. Measure this distance. together and cancel each
other out
4. Tape a piece of paper to the wall so that the pattern created by shining the laser
through the cloth falls on the sheet of paper In Phase: When two waves
are going up and down
 COLLECTING DATA: together
1. Shine the laser through the white cloth. You should see a pattern on the sheet of
paper. Out of Phase: When one
wave is going up as the
2. Use a pencil to record the pattern you see onto the screen. Make sure you label other is going down
the paper so you know which cloth strip was used.

3. Repeat this for the 3 remaining pieces of cloth.

 ANALYZING YOUR RESULTS:

1. How does the pattern you saw compare to the patter you predicted you would see?

2. What do you think is happening to form the pattern? Can you explain using the ideas of interference?
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 A4

EXPERIMENT 1 STUDENT’S
Spots, Lines and Lasers GUIDE
 ANALYZING YOUR RESULTS

3. As the number of threads per centimeter increased, what happened to the pattern?

4. You can use the pattern you see to find the wavelength of your laser pointer. The bright spots correspond to the
places where light waves are all going up and down together, where they are "in phase" and the dark spots are when
the light waves are out of phase. By knowing when that happens, you can learn about the material that created the
pattern. If you think about it, you have lots of data to work with here. The more data you have the more accurately you
can find an answer. You are going to find the wavelength of your laser using all 4 pieces of cloth and then average them
together to get the best answer.

5. Look at the pattern you copied for the first piece of cloth. Measure the distance between the bright spots and come
up with an average distance. Next you want to figure out how far apart the threads are in the cloth. The number of thread
per centimeter is written on the card. From that, you need to find the distance, in centimeters between each thread.
Now you need one more pice of data, the distance from the cloth to the wall. You should have measured that while
doing the experiment. Now to put it all together.

6. The wavelength of your laser can be found like this: Wavelength=Wd/L. So what do all the letters mean. W=the
distance between the bright spots.This should be the average distance that you found in step 4. L is the distance to the
wall and d is the distance between the threads. Looking at this formula, can you see what the pattern changed the way
it did as the number of threads per centimeter changed?

7. You should now do this for the other three pieces of cloth.
Now average all those wavelengths together to come up with your Diffraction Grating Card
answer. The more data you get, the more confident you can be in your
final answer. This is what all good scientists do!

8. All of your answers should be in meters. You might have to convert

your answers to do this. Now you should convert to nanometers.
There are 100 centimeters in a meter and 1,000,000,000 nanometers
(nm) in a meter. That’s a lot!

 USING YOUR RESULTS TO HELP

SPECTRA “MISALIGN” ALIGNMENT: LASER
POINTER

What is the wavelength of your laser?

(Circle one)
1. About 200 nm
2. About 3,000 nm
3. About 600 nm
4. About 2 nm.
4 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero www.physicscentral.com

Lucy, listen But I do need for

OK, But don’t You students in the back!
to this CD. you to pay attention
get me in I’m sorry that I’m “boring”
It’s me and to the class lecture!
trouble, again. you with my laser talk!
my band.

after being a bit startled, lucy

Kas! It’s starting throws down the cd; getting
to play! What type the attention of the class.
of CD is this?

Whoa! I don’t
Lucinda! As fascinating
know. I just burned
as you think your
it like I’ve always the class lets out a “love” life is to you,
done before. huge laugh. miss allen I need you to pay
is not pleased. attention in class!

later that day, after school Some of that stuff Miss Allen said about lasers
was pretty cool. I didn’t know that you could
use a laser to measure the thickness of a hair.

?!?

Yeah, you’re right!

What about when she
taught us how lasers
can transmit sounds
from my stereo to
my speakers.

Lucinda arrives
home and dashes Lucinda you Everything was
up to her room; left the door open, fine. I’m just ...
faster than she again. How was doing my physics
ever has before.
school today? homework.

Is everything
all right? KNOCK
KNO
Why is your CK
door closed?

OK, then after you’re

done. Let me or your Dad
take a look. You know we DO
know a little something
about physics.
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero 5
Lucinda pulls out one of her
favorite CDs. As she touches KNOCK! Lucinda, your mother
How is this
the CD, it starts playing. KNOCK! told me that you
She’s puzzled and shocked.
CD playing?
were home. How’s the
But she still thinks her new
homework coming?
“power” is pretty cool.

Now I don’t need

to buy any more
batteries for my
CD player. SWEET!

Are you listening Okay, finish up, I’ll be down

to your CDs or dinner’s ready. in a minute.
working on your Actually,
homework? I’m doing
a little bit
of both.
Huh?!?

What’s this I hear Yeah, we had a ... and stuff?

that you’re substitute. She gave Please use
studying lasers in us a long lecture your
physics class? about lasers and stuff. vocabulary.

Lucinda begins to tell her parents about Miss

Allen and all the information that she learned from
the class. She then asked them to explain how
lasers work.
First, Ruby tried to
embarrass me in front of Miss Allen
And we also learned that I’m done. May
when she told her about
different colored lasers I be excused?
you guys being physicists.
have different energies,
I have to finish She’s up to
We also my homework. Something.
learned that And did you know that
lasers can play light can bend when it Definitely!
CDs and DVDs. goes through objects
such as glass.

Hhhhmm.....
I know that
I can play CDs.
I wonder what
other powers
I may have?
 6 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero www.physicscentral.com

Lucinda begins to explore her

new powers. She quickly flies
across her room.... She reflects
off the mirror...

ng!
... bounces off the wall, to
her hanging lamp; then gets Pl i
redirected towards the mirror.

oh, oh! This time with more

This is going control, she runs
... and right into toward her window.
her fish bowl. . to hurt!

WOW!
That wasn’t
so bad. I’ve
gotta try that
again.

She goes through

the window.

Yet, instead of getting wet,

Lucinda goes completely
through the bowl.

She flies back into her

SWEET!
room and looks at
herself in the mirror. No more
I remember Miss Allen doors
talking about the change for me!
of colors with lasers.
This is amazing! My
She told the class that body now plays CDs.
red light has less energy. I can go through It seems that
windows, reflect and that I have
But Like a laser, I must now move super fast! the powers of
why am have ”low energy” a laser!
I reddish? after all that flying.

Perhaps, my playing Lucinda realizes

around has caused me that she’s really
to turn red. exhausted and
falls asleep.
I wonder if I looked
She dreams of
blue before dinner? saving the world
with her new
laser powers.
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 B1

EXPERIMENT 2 TEACHER’S
How Thick is Your Hair? GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION: In the last experiment we saw what happened when laser light was passed through fabric to find its
wavelength as long as we knew how far apart the threads were. Now we can use wavelength to find the width of a hair.

 KEY QUESTION: How can a laser be used to measure the width of a human hair?

 MATERIALS:
• Laser pointer • Binder Clips (2) • Index card
• Tape • Scissors • Ruler
• Large sheet of paper • Pencil
• Human hair  KEY TERMS:
(Ask nicely before plucking this from your friend's head) Wavelength: The distance
from one wave peak to the
 BEFORE THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS KNOW: next.
• Light can act like a wave.
• A laser pointer is a beam of light that is coherent and all the same color. Diffraction: When light
goes around an obstacle or
 AFTER THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO: through a single slit the light
• Describe how wave interact rays interact with each other.
• Explain the pattern formed on the wall when a laser is shined on a human hair When they do, a patterns of
• Explain how to use this pattern to measure the width of a small obstacle such dark and bright spots is
as a human hair. created.

 THE SCIENCE BEHIND DIFFRACTION Interference: When light

Light is both a particle and a wave, or better yet, light has both wave properties and passes through two slits and
particle properties. In this kit we will do experiments that will show both sides of light. the light rays from each of
This experiment is one that shows that light has wave This is tricky thing to compre- the slits interacts. It is like
hend. diffraction but involves more
than one slit or obstacle.
Lets start by thinking about what happens when waves interact. We will assume that
we are dealing with two waves that have the same wavelength. When two waves Constructive Interference:
come together they add up to make a resultant wave. If the two waves have crests and When two waves come
troughs at the same points, they add up to make a wave that is twice as big as the two together and make a bigger
individual waves. This is called "constructive interference." When two waves have wave
crests and troughs at the same points they are said to be "in phase." If two waves are
completely "out of phase" which means one wave is up while the other is down, they Destructive Interference:
cancel each other out. This is called "destructive interference." When two waves come
together and cancel each
When water waves flow around a pylon because they spread out on the other side of other out
the pylon they will come back together and interact with each other. Sometimes they
constructively interfere and sometime they destructively interfere. If we were to In Phase: When two waves
measure the height of the waves on the other side of the pylon we would sometimes are going up and down
see big waves and sometimes see no waves at all. together

You have always heard that light always goes in a straight line. Well it does. Except Out of Phase: When one
when it doesn't. When light encounters and obstacle that is really small, only slightly wave is going up as the
larger than the wavelength of light, it will spread out again as it passes the obstacle, other is going down
just like water flowing around a pylon. This is called diffraction. So light behaves just
like the example of water flowing around the pylon that we talked about before. But what does this have to do with finding
the thickness of a hair? Well, as the light goes around the hair it is going to come back together at different points based
on the thickness of the hair and the wavelength of light. (Figure 2) Sometimes the light waves will cross when they are
both up, sometimes they will cross when one is up and one is down. It will depend on the wavelength of light and how far
it has traveled. (Fig. 3) If the wavelength of light is smaller, say, blue or green light, then the pattern you would see would
have the bright spots closer together. What do you think you would see if you could do this with white light?

So far we know the pattern on the wall depends on at least two different things, the thickness of the hair and the
wavelength of the laser Does it depend on anything else? Imagine what would happen if you moved the hair closer to the
wall. The pattern would change. In fact, the spots would get closer together. The mathematical way of saying all this is:
thickness of hair=((wavelength of laser) * (Distance from hair to wall))/(average spacing between bright spots).

So to find the thickness of the hair, we need to know the wavelength of the laser. If you have done activity one you can
use the value of wavelength you found there. If not, or if you are not sure of your answer to activity one, the wavelength of
your laser is 670nm. In doing this experiment it is going to be necessary to pay close attention to units of distance. I
would recommend changing everything to meters and then changing micrometers to determine your final answer. This will
allow students to get practice in unit conversion.
B2 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 www.physicscentral.com

EXPERIMENT 2 TEACHER’S
How Thick is Your Hair? GUIDE
 SAFETY:
Review these guidelines closely with students before the activity and outline consequences for failure to follow them!
Warn students very strongly about the dangers of looking directly into the laser beam. Shining the beam into their eyes of
the eyes of their classmates an cause serious injury and damage. Consequences for student recklessly playing with the
lasers should be outlined before giving out the supplies for the activity. If you are concerned, you may prefer to complete
the portions of the procedure with the laser for your students and have them do the analysis.

 CORRESPONDING EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

• Spiraling CDs and DVDs
• Prisms
• Colors of Compact Florescent Bulbs

 BIBLIOGRAPHY/SUGGESTED RESOURCES
http://www.exploratorium.edu/snacks/diffraction/index.html

Figure 1 Figure 2

Constructive Destructive

+ +
HAIR

Figure 3
Figure 3
Screen (wall)
Distance
between
black dots

HAIR
HAIR
Distance to screen

This path is one whole wavelength

longer so when waves hit the screen
they are again “in phase”
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 B3

EXPERIMENT 2 STUDENT’S
How Thick is Your Hair? GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION:
Ever wondered how thick your hair is? How do you think you might measure?
Well it turns out that you can do it with a laser!

 MATERIALS:
• Laser pointer • Binder Clips (2) • Index card
• Masking Tape • Scissors • Ruler
• Large sheet of paper • Pencil
• Human hair
 KEY TERMS:
(Ask nicely before plucking this from your friend's head)
Wavelength: The distance
from one wave peak to the
 KEY QUESTION:
next.
How can a laser be used to measure the width of a human hair?
Diffraction: When light
 GETTING STARTED:
1. How thick do you think your hair is?
goes around an obstacle or
through a single slit the light
2. Do you think everyone in the class has hair of the same thickness?
rays interact with each other.
When they do, a patterns of
3. When you shine a laser on a human hair,
dark and bright spots is
what do you think the resulting light
created.
pattern will look like? Draw it here.
Interference: When light
passes through two slits and
the light rays from each of
the slits interacts. It is like
diffraction but involves more
than one slit or obstacle.

Constructive Interference:
When two waves come
together and make a bigger
wave
 SETTING UP THE EXPERIMENT:
1. Cut out the center of a 3 in. x 5 in. index card. Destructive Interference:
When two waves come
2. Have everyone in the group donate a hair. Ask nicely as this may hurt a bit! together and cancel each
other out
3. Tape the hair in the middle of the index card. (Fig. 1)
In Phase: When two waves
4. Attach binder clips to sides of card so that it will stand up. (Fig. 2) are going up and down
together
5. Place the laser pointer on top of a book so that the laser beam will shine
directly on the hair and tape it down securely. (Fig. 3) Out of Phase: When one
wave is going up as the
6. Put this set-up 4 meters from a wall and tape the large piece of paper other is going down
to the wall so that the laser beam will shine on it.

 COLLECTING DATA
1. Turn off the lights in the room and turn on the laser pointer.

2. Make sure the laser is shining directly on the hair.

3. You should see a pattern of bright spots and dark spots on the wall.

4. Draw this pattern on the paper and then turn off the laser.

5. Repeat this for the hairs of all members in the group. You can mount them all on the same card and just move the laser.
 B4 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 www.physicscentral.com

EXPERIMENT 2 STUDENT’S
How Thick is Your Hair? GUIDE
 ANALYZING YOUR DATA
How does the pattern compare to what you predicted?

Would you have gotten the same pattern if you shined a light bulb on the hair? Why not?

To use the pattern to find the width of the hair we are going to have to do some tricky, fun math.

For this experiment you can think of light as a wave. When it goes around the hair it does the same thing as wavy
water going around a pylon. The waves spread out and then come back together. When waves come together
if they are going up and down at the same time, they add up. If one is going up when the other is going down,
they cancel each other out. With light, the bright spots are where the light is all going up and down together
and the dark spots are formed when the waves are out of sync.

Or you can use the fancy terms "in phase" and "out of phase." The spacing of the bright and dark spots depends on the
thickness of the obstacle the light has to go around, in this case the hair. The mathematical way of saying this is:
thickness=((wavelength of laser) (Distance from hair to wall))/ (average spacing between bright spots). So now you need
to find all those values. You also need to make sure all your measurements are in meters. The distance from the hair to
the wall is 4 meters.

You found the wavelength of your laser in activity one, but in case you skipped activity one, the wavelength is 650 nanometers
(you need to convert to meters). To measure the average distance between bright spots see Fig. 2 (in the Teacher’s Guide)
Now put it all together and find the width of your hair!

How does the thickness you found compare to your prediction?

Is the thickness different for different people's hair? Does hair color matter?

Figure 2
Figure 1

HAIR

 USING YOUR DATA TO

Figure 3 HELP SPECTRA “MISALIGN”
LASER MISS ALIGNMENT
POINTER How thick is your hair?
(Circle one)

A. 100-400 nanometers

B. 1-4 micrometers

C. 30-200 micrometers

D. 300-1,000 micrometers
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero 7
the next day, back at school
Lucinda slyly changes the
subject as she drags her
Do you fingers across
really think Kas For the millionth the lockers.
time, YES! He did What’s
likes me? that noise?
give you his band’s
crazy CD. Hey, did
you ever figure out
what happened?
How did it play
K! !
by itself?
SRIE

Did I Whoa! All the noise gets Ms. Hene or No sir, at least
do that? Principal Williams Ms. Silvera! Are you I don’t think
out of his office. two responsible for this it was me.
vandalism to
school property?

Well then get to class! Do you remember all that stuff Miss I hardly believe it myself,
And remember this, Allen told us about lasers? I don’t Who would I tell? C’mon
I’ve got my eyes know how, but I now have those let’s get to
on you! Don’t same powers! I guess I cut through class, we’re
give me a reason those lockers; just like a laser! late.
to call your
parents. Yeah, right!
Prove it!

Okay, I guess, Miss Allen overhears

Lucy! their conversation.
Start talking. I can tell you.
What’s
going on! Hmm... I knew something
was special about Lucinda.
A normal teen couldn’t
cause all this destruction.
If she does have “powers”,
I could use
them for
Lucinda tells Ruby about the night before my plans.
and what she discovered about her new
laser powers. She then demonstrates
her powers to her. Ruby gets startled but
excited. Once again, Lucinda makes
But you have
it clear that Ruby shouldn’t tell anyone.
to promise not
to tell anyone.
8 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero www.physicscentral.com

I’m just checking Ruby, at tonight’s

later that day after to see if my band football game, after
school, lucinda and got that gig that I make a touchdown
the crew go hang we auditioned for I’m going throw you a
out at the pizza joint. last week. Did shout-out! Is that OK?
It was HOT!
you like the CD I loved it!
I gave you? Ahh, aren’t
you cute.

without being noticed,

miss allen has followed
lucinda and her friends Stop trying to be funny. Can I come? Me, too!
to the restaurant. But if you like them so much,
come over to the house
There they are. I wonder this weekend.
if there’s a way to find We’re having
out how she cut apart a cookout!
those lockers at the
school. If I’m correct,
I could use her for
my experiments!

Lucy, I know that

you think your parents
are nerds, but I’ve always
liked them.

miss allen returns to her I have contributed

downtown high-rise condo, all my knowledge to laser
but instead of furniture, research, yet, I still get no
it’s full of her laser experiments. RESPECT! But that’s going to
change, after I get my hands on
in this secret lab, she relaxes
that girl and harness
and reverts to her true identity. her power.

I can use her to

Everyone at that power my super laser
school accepts me captivator. After it starts to
as Miss Allen. work, I will be able to control
But soon the and turn off everything in
whole world the world that uses
is going to know laser technology.
me as...

MLIGINSMSENT
Without lasers,
the world will be
thrown into chaos.
Then Miss Alignment
A will come in and
...the greatest save the day.
laser scientist of
all time! But first, what
can I do to control
Lucinda’s powers?
I‘ve got it!
I need to control
her silly friends!
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 C1

EXPERIMENT 3 TEACHER’S
Light and Dark GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION: This is a neat and surprising little experiment. Everyone has seen polarization in there everyday lives.
Many people know that if you cross two polarizers no light will be able to pass through. But the real fun starts when three
polarizers are put in a row. This gives shocking and counter intuitive results but once the phenomenon is understood the
students will have a much deeper understanding of the nature of polarization.

 KEY QUESTION: What happens when you put three polarizers in a row and look at an LED through all three?

 MATERIALS:
• LED flashlight (not laser pointer) • Polarizers (3)  KEY TERMS:
• Tape • Binder clips (3) LED: Stands for “light
• Marker • Protractor emitting diode.” A diode is a
part of a circuit that only
 BEFORE THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW: allows current to go in one
• Polarizers select light who’s electric field is going in a particular direction direction. Some types of
• When two polarizers are crossed, no light can get through. diodes will glow when
• Polarizers are used in many things such as sunglasses. current passes through
• A vector is a way if indication both a magnitude and a direction. them. Many lasers are made
out of LEDs, though all LEDs
 AFTER THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO: are not lasers.
• Understand and explain why no light can pass through polarizers that are crossed.
• Understand and explain what happens to light when it passes through three Polarizer: A polarizer is a
polarizers in a row. sheet made up of long
• Polarizers are used in many things such as sunglasses. chains of polymers that only
• Explain this phenomenon using vectors. allow electric fields of one
direction to pass through.
 THE SCIENCE BEHIND POLARIZATION
If you have done the two previous experiments you have learned a bit about the wave Polarized: Light is made of
nature of light. But light is a wave of what exactly? How does that something interact both an electric and
with its surroundings? Picture an electron. It creates an electric field. You have magnetic field. When the
probably seen a drawing with arrows coming out of an electron. electric field of all the light
rays is going in the same
The arrows are vectors that tell you the direction of the electric field and how strong it direction it is said to be
is. You can do the same thing with a magnet and a magnetic field. Light is a combina- “polarized light.” To polarize
tion of the two types of fields. The electric field is pointing in one direction and the light it is passed though a
magnetic field is pointing 90 degrees to that. But where does the wave come in? polarizer.
Normally when you see pictures of electric fields they are just sitting there, not moving.
But with light, the electric field is moving like a wave and so is the magnetic field. Vector: An arrow that can
Notice we haven't said how the fields are actually created. Who cares! indicate both direction and
magnitude.
They are there now and that is all that matters. If you must know, it comes from
electrons jiggling around and there are many ways to make electrons jiggle.

Most of the time the electric field of different light rays are going in different directions. If you could see the direction of the
electric fields of the light all the light rays all around you right now, they would all be going in different directions.

When this is the case, the light is said to be "unpolarized." When light is polarized, it means that the electric field of every
light ray is moving in the same direction. To make this happen, unpolarized light can be passed through a polarizer.
A polarizer picks out the light rays with electric fields going in one particular direction.

A polarizer acts like a filter and only allows light rays in one direction to pass through. The polarizers in you kit are actually
clear plastic coated with a film of long chains of polymers. When light hits this, only light that has some part of its electric
field vectors going in the direction of the polymer chains in the polarizer will pass through. This means that the light that
comes out of a polarizer has electric fields all going in one direction.

Note that we said that light that has some part of its electric field vector in the direction of the polarizer can pass though.
This is a bit of a tricky statement, but like all tricky ideas it is also the most interesting part. Imagine an arrow pointing at 45
degrees. If you were to draw this arrow on an x, y plot, you would need to know how much is going in the x direction and
how much is going in the y direction. So the arrow has some x and some y components. Now think of this arrow as describ-
ing the direction of the electric field of a ray of light. Next think of the polarizer as being in the x direction, so that only light
with some x component can go through. Even though our 45 degree light ray isn't completely in the x direction, it has some
amount in the x direction. Because it has a little bit in the x, that part can pass through the polarizer. The light that comes
out the other side has all of its electric field in the x direction.
C2 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 www.physicscentral.com

EXPERIMENT 3 TEACHER’S
Light and Dark GUIDE
Now what if this light were to try and go through a polarizer that was in the y direction it couldn't. Because the light
has no component in the y direction it would be completely blocked. This is why light can't go through crossed
polarizers. This experiment puts three polarizers in a line and looks at what happens when the middle on of the three
is turned. The first and third polarizers are crossed but the middle one is free to move. You might assume that
because the first and third polarizers are crossed that no light will make it to the end, but when you preform the
experiment it becomes clear this is not the case. So what is happening here?

Lets follow the light one step at a time. First light of all polarizations hits the first polarizer which picks out light in one
direction, lets call that x. So when the light gets to the second polarizer it is all going in the x direction. This second
polarizer is moved around during the experiment. When the polarizer is turned so that it is a least pointing a little bit
in the x direction, so of the light can get through it. So now we move on to the third polarizer.

At this point all the light is going in whatever direction the second polarizer is pointing. The third polarizer is pointing
in the y direction. If the light coming out of the second polarizers is going even a little bit in the y direction then some
of it will pass through the third polarizer and you can see it at the very end. So, basically, if the third polarizer's
direction is pointing in a way that gives it both some x and y direction then light can get all the way through. The most
light gets through when the second polarizer has the same amount of x and y.

What does all this have to do with lasers? Well it turns out, not much. Many people think that laser light must be
polarized, but that isn't true. As long as laser light is all "in phase" (see activity 1) then it is laser light. However, most
laser light is polarized. Look at your laser through the polarizer and see if it is polarized.

 CORRESPONDING EXTENSION ACTIVITIES

• Polarization All Around You
• Polarize a Slinky
• Glaring Polarization

 BIBLIOGRAPHY/SUGGESTED RESOURCES
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 C3

EXPERIMENT 3 STUDENT’S
Light and Dark GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION:
Polarizers are all around us, but most of us usually see them in sunglasses. But why are
they used in sunglasses and what exactly do they do? Do they just block some light or is there
something special about them? This experiment will look at some of the properties of polarizers
and hopefully give you some surprising results!

 MATERIALS:
• LED flashlight (not laser pointer) • Polarizers (3)
• Tape • Binder clips (3)
• Marker • Protractor  KEY TERMS:
LED: Stands for “light
 KEY QUESTION: emitting diode.” A diode is a
What happens when you put three polarizers in a row and look at an LED part of a circuit that only
through all three? allows current to go in one
direction. Some types of
 GETTING STARTED: diodes will glow when
• What do you think it means for light to be “polarized”? current passes through
• Where have you seen polarization before? them. Many lasers are made
• Why do you think a polarizer looks dark? out of LEDs, though all LEDs
are not lasers.
 SETTING UP THE EXPERIMENT:
Polarizer: A polarizer is a
1. Place a small piece of masking tape on the side of all three polarizers.
sheet made up of long
chains of polymers that only
2. Line up the polarizers so that they are all facing the same direction.
allow electric fields of one
This means you will be able to see a lot of light if you look through all three.
direction to pass through.
3. Draw an upward arrow on each of the polarizers. This will let you know
Polarized: Light is made of
which was the light is being polarized. (Fig. 1)
both an electric and
magnetic field. When the
4. Attach a binder clip to each polarizer so that when placed on a table the
electric field of all the light
stand up facing in the same direction. (Fig. 2)
rays is going in the same
direction it is said to be
5. Lay the LED on top of a book so that you can look through the polarizers
“polarized light.” To polarize
and see the LED (Fig. 3)
light it is passed though a
polarizer.
 COLLECTING DATA
• Set up two polarizers so that the arrows are pointing perpendicular. Look at
Vector: An arrow that can
the LED through the two polarizers. You should not be able to see much light
indicate both direction and
at all.
magnitude.
• While looking at the LED, turn the polarizer closest to the LED 10 degrees to
the right. On a scale of one to ten, where one is no light a ten is full
brightness, how bright does the LED appear? Figure 1

• Continue to turn the polarizer in 10-degree increments and ranking the

brightness until you have turned the polarizer a full 180 degrees. (Fig. 4)

• Start with the set up in step one but this time put the third polarizer in
between the first and second. The polarizer should be in the same direction
as the polarizer closest to the LED.

• This time you will turn the middle polarizer in 10-degree increments and rank
the brightness of the LED as viewed through the polarizers. Make sure you
turn the polarizer a full 180 degrees.

POLARIZER
 C4 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 www.physicscentral.com

EXPERIMENT 3 STUDENT’S
Light and Dark GUIDE
 ANALYZING YOUR DATA
1. What happened to the brightness of the LED as you rotated the polarizer in the first experiment?
What this what you expected? Why?

2. How bright did the LED appear in the as you rotated the polarizer in the second experiment? Was that what you expected?

3. Create two graphs, one for each experiment. Graph your results putting degrees rotated on the x-axis and brightness
on the y-axis.

4. In experiment 2, why do you think there are points where you can see the LED through all three polarizers, but when there
are two crossed polarizers you can’t? What is it about the third polarizer that allows you to see light?

5. Why might polarized sunglasses block glare? What can you say about glare and polarization?

EXPERIMENT 1 Draw your graphs below

EXPERIMENT 1

LED Flashlight

EXPERIMENT 2

EXPERIMENT 2

 USING YOUR DATA TO HELP SPECTRA

“MISALIGN” MISS ALIGNMENT
• Which graph looks like your graph for Experiment 2?

1 2 3 4
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero 9

miss alignment
she wears some of ruby’s she pretends to like she helps gordy develop a
aka “miss allen”
custom fashion designs. the music by kas’ band. better touchdown pass.
works on
developing her
relationships with
each of lucinda’s
buddies as a friend
and mentor.
they slowly begin
to trust her.

miss allen gets to be known as the “cool” teacher! after getting into the
on the day of the big swim meet, she volunteers to give suv, miss allen locks
the unsuspecting trio a ride to go watch lucinda compete! the doors and tells them
to make certain to put
on their seatbelts.
the friends do as instructed.

after each click of the belt,

they are zapped by the she hurriedly takes her
rigged seatbelts. “captives” to her secret
laboratory near the lake.

after she arrives, she moves miss allen knows how

the sedated trio into a special much lucinda cares about
her friends, so she sends
laser-generating cage.
her a “friendly” text
message.

A PZ ! I HAVE YOUR FRIENDS! LET’S SEE

IF YOUR “LASER” POWERS CAN
SAVE THEM! MEET ME @ THE

Z
CAVE BY THE LAKE!
- MISS ALlGNMENT

they’re unconscious!
miss alignment knows
that her plan has worked!
10 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero www.physicscentral.com

at first lucinda thinks ruby she finds some of her she gets a “laser” decal
is playing a prank on her. old camping gear! from one of her mom’s
she calls her back. she replies lucinda now realizes experiments.
to miss alignment’s text. that she must save
her friends. but she
doesn’t want anyone
lucinda gets a new “photo” to recognize her
while she‘s learning and
text message. it’s her friends.
to control her new lastly, she
she finds her figures out
It’s not powers. she rushes
hiking boots.
home and goes down a way to
a joke! conceal
to her parents’ lab
for anything she can her face.
gather to help rescue
her friends.
And who is this
“Miss Alignment?”

NICE! I like it! Wait a minute.

But what do
I call myself?
I have the
powers of a laser
and light.
I’ve got the
perfect name!

Shooting Star?
Nope, I don’t even
play basketball.

Laser Girl?
Naw, that’s
dumb.

SuperGirl?
T HE OR IG
Nope, that’s IN AL L S
A ER S
already taken. U PE R H E
RO

spectra flies toward the

address from the text message.
she quickly discovers flying
isn’t as easy as it looks in
comic books!

it was a “bumpy” ride. I hope that

but she gets there! spectra enters
I’m not too late! the cave.
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero 11
spectra locates her
friends inside a laser I’m SPECTRA! NO! I said,
Oh!
generated cage. Spectra!

I’m here to
rescue you guys!
Your friend Lucinda
called me.

You’re
Thanks, but inspector;
who are you? inspector
of what?

USING HER LASER POWERS,

spectra looks around SPECTRA TACKLES EACH TASK, Hmm... it seems that I was
and spots the main right about Lucinda’s powers
control switch on the or “Spectra” if that’s what
other side of the room. she’s going by now!
but to get to the switch,
she must maneuver
through the dangerous
obstacle course set up
by miss alignment to
challenge spectra’s She cuts through She changes her wavelength
laser powers. a solid metal door color and appearance and
blends into her surroundings

She discovers a new power,

“diffraction”, which makes her
split into several copies of herself. She passes through
a transparent window Not so fast little girl!
Why do you think I kidnapped
After shutting down the lasers, Miss Allen is really your friends and brought
Spectra rescues her friends. you here? I needed to
Miss Alignment!
see your POWER!
We’re fine. But what
Are you
guys OK?
about her?

Who?

P Z Z
A
I know that you think I’m small,
Miss Alignment
but I have powers you can’t believe!
Z Wow!
quickly That worked!

switches the
cage’s lasers Spectra tosses her
back on! goggles to Kas and
yells to him to use them to deflect
away Miss Alignment’s lasers.
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 D1

EXPERIMENT 4 TEACHER’S
Glow in the Dark GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION: To demonstrate the energy of light and show that different wave lengths
of light have different energies.

 KEY QUESTION: What colors of light cause a glow in the dark square to glow?

 MATERIALS:
 KEY TERMS:
• Phosphorescent vinyl • Laser pointer • White light
Wavelength: The distance from
• Red, blue, orange and • Dark room
one wave peak to the next.
purple gel filters
Intensity: The strength of
something. ex: Brighter light has
 BEFORE THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS SHOULD KNOW:
more intensity.
• A rainbow is made of red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet.

• Different colors of light have different wavelengths

• Energy is never created or destroyed

 AFTER THE ACTIVITY, STUDENTS SHOULD BE ABLE TO:

• Describe why the glow in the dark square will only glow when it is hit with certain colors of light.

• Explain how color of light is related to its energy.

• Say why the rainbow is in the order that we see.

 THE SCIENCE BEHIND DIFFRACTION:

This experiment is essentially a table top, easy to do version of one of the most famous physics experiments of all time, the
photoelectric effect. Light is a very interesting entity. You may have heard it said that it is both a particle and a wave. It may
be better to phrase this as “light has both wave and particle properties.” It was the photoelectric effect that led scientists to
develop the idea that light had particle properties. Probably the best way to think about this mind bending notion is to picture
photons as little packets of waves. Different colors of photons have different wavelengths. Blue and purple photons have
shorter wavelengths than red or yellow light. The shorter the wavelength, the more energy the wave has. This is why we get
sunburned by ultraviolet rays and not infrared rays. Because the ultraviolet rays have high energy they can burn our skin.

The glow in the dark material is made up of special molecules called phosphors. Electrons sit in different energy levels.
To move to a higher energy level they need energy from photons. When photons from a light source hit the molecules they
excite the electrons and make them jump up to a higher energy level. Once they are up there they don't stay there forever.
When they fall back down to a lower energy level, something has to happen to the energy they are losing because we know
that energy can't be created or destroyed.

The energy the electrons lose pops out as photons. The energy of a photon is based on its wavelength. If you think of the
colors of the rainbow, red has the least energy and violet has the most energy. Energy increases as you go from red to violet.
This is why the rainbow is in the order it is in, it goes in order of energy. Electrons have specific energy levels at which they
like to sit. They can't just have any old amount of energy, they must sit at specific energy levels. To get an electron to jump
from one energy level to a higher level it must be hit by a photon with a high enough energy. So if the difference in energy
from one level to the next is the energy a blue photon carries, if the electron is hit by a red photon, it won't jump up. It will
just sit right where it is and the red photon will simple continue on its way. But if that same electron is hit by a blue, or even
violet photon it will jump up and then eventually fall down and emit a photon again. One really cool thing to realize is that
this electron which needs a blue photon to jump up could be hit by hundreds, millions, quadrillions of red photons and it still
won't budge. It must have the energy of a blue photon or higher.

In this experiment students will allow only certain colors of light to be used to "charge up" their phosphorescent squares.
Because the squares glow green you know that the difference in energy level for the electrons must be the energy in a green
photon because as the electrons fall down, they are emitting green photons. The students will be using violet, blue, red and
yellow light to charge up their squares. Blue and violet photons have enough energy to make the electrons jump up, red and
yellow do not. When the students are asked to predict which colors will make the square glow they will almost inevitably say
the yellow light will make the square glow the brightest and be shocked when the yellow doesn't glow at all. They predict
this because the yellow gel filter is very light and lets the most amount of light through. But as we said before, it doesn't
matter how many photons are hitting an electron if the photons themselves are not of a high enough energy.
D2 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 www.physicscentral.com

EXPERIMENT 4 TEACHER’S
Glow in the Dark GUIDE
In the last part students charge up the square with white light and then “write” on it with a red laser. This is an interesting
phenomenon because red light, which is less energetic than green light, should be able to be transformed into green light.
In this case, the square already has enough energy to glow green, the red laser is just making it glow brighter by adding a
bit more energy. It doesn’t need all of the energy of green light to glow, it just needs a little extra kick. So it may seem like
red light is being turned into green light, but it’s not.

You (and your students) might be asking "is it possible to have a wave with more energy than a violet wave or less energy
than a red one?" Visible light is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, microwaves are just like light waves, only they have much
much less energy than red light with a wavelength of a few centimeters and x-rays have much more energy than violet light.

 SAFETY:
Review these guidelines closely with students before the activity and outline consequences for failure to follow them!
Warn students very strongly about the dangers of looking directly into the laser beam. Shining the beam into their eyes of
the eyes of their classmates an cause serious injury and damage. Consequences for student recklessly playing with the
lasers should be outlined before giving out the supplies for the activity. If you are concerned, you may prefer to complete
the portions of the procedure with the laser for your students and have them do the analysis.

 CORRESPODING EXTENSION ACTIVITES

• Glowing drinks
• Clean heat
• Painting particles

 BIBLIOGRAPHY/SUGGESTED RESOURCES
http://van.physics.illinois.edu/qa/listing.php?id=1864

http://eosweb.larc.nasa.gov/EDDOCS/Wavelengths_for_Colors.html

http://www2.slac.stanford.edu/vvc/theory/photoelectric.html Figure 1
Lower Energy Photon Higher Energy Photon

Figure 2
Atomic Energy Levels

Green Green
photon Electron Electron
photon
jumps up falls down

Electron Square glows green

Atomic Energy Levels

Red Red
photon photon

Electron
Red photon does not have
enough energy to excite the electron.
Red photon bounces off,
Square does not glow green
www.physicscentral.com PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 D3

EXPERIMENT 4 STUDENT’S
Glow in the Dark GUIDE
 INTRODUCTION:
Have you every wondered why your favorite glow in the dark t-shirt glows? Or ever wondered
why you have to "charge it up" before you can impress your friends with its stunning glow?
Every wondered what would happen to it if you stood in red light instead of white light?
Well, this experiment will answer all those questions and more.
 KEY TERMS:
 MATERIALS: Wavelength: The distance from
• Phosphorescent vinyl • Laser pointer • White light one wave peak to the next.
• Red, blue, orange and purple gel filters • Dark room
Intensity: The strength of
 KEY QUESTION: something. ex: Brighter light has
What colors of light will cause glow in the dark material to glow? more intensity.

 GETTING STARTED:
1. To get a glow in the dark material to glow, what do you have to do to it first?

2. Will just any material glow, or does it have to be special?

3. Why is a rainbow in the order that we see?

 SETTING UP THE EXPERIMENT:

1. Hold the vinyl square up to a white light.

2. Turn off the lights and look at the square. What is happening?

What color is it glowing?

3. Wait for the vinyl to stop glowing. Place one color of gel filter on each corner of the vinyl and again hold it up to the
white light for several minutes. While you are waiting draw a picture indicating which color is on which part of the vinyl.

Which color gel filter do you think will allow the square to glow?

Why?

Take the gel filters off and take it into a dark room.

On your drawing indicate which sections of the square are glowing.

4. Again charge up the square in white light, this time, with no gel filters,
and take the square and a laser pointer into a dark room. “Write” on BLUE RED
the square with the laser pointer, what happens? Thinking back to
the experiment with the gel filters, is red light more or less energetic
than green light? How is it possible to make the square glow green
by applying red light?

YELLOW VIOLE T
 D4 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero: PART 2 www.physicscentral.com

EXPERIMENT 4 STUDENT’S
Glow in the Dark GUIDE
 ANALYZING YOUR DATA
1. When you charged up the square and then put it in a dark room, why is it glowing?

2. When you put the gel filters over the square you only allowed light of certain colors to get through
and charge up the square. Which colors charged up the square and made it glow?

Write down the colors of the rainbow in order. Circle the colors that allowed the square to
glow and cross out the colors that did not.

Do you see a pattern? YES NO

On which side of green are the non-glowing colors?

On which side are the glowing colors?

In a rainbow, violet light has the most energy and red light has the least. What can you say about the energy of light that
is needed to charge up the square? Does it have to be more or less than green?

3. Thinking back to the experiment with the gel filters, is red light more or less energetic than green light?
How is it possible to make the square glow green by applying red light?

 USING YOUR DATA TO HELP SPECTRA “MISALIGN” MISS ALIGNMENT

Which color gel filters allowed the vinyl to glow? (Circle one)

A. Blue and purple

B. Red and yellow

C. Red and blue

D. Red and blue

12 PhysicsQuest: 2009: SPECTRA, The Original Laser Superhero www.physicscentral.com

Nice trick, but your Lucinda! Now, it Yeah

heroics have all makes it’s me.
made you reveal sense. Hey guys!
yourself!
I knew it!

Enough with the Take my word for it. You miss alignment
reunion show! You may and I will meet again. I need shines a laser pointer
have won this first round. to use you to complete into the quartet’s
But now I know my ultimate laser
experiment.
eyes; temporarily
what you can do with
blinding them as
your powers.
she escapes!

Don’t be
late for
physics class!
HA HA HA!

I’m glad that you guys are Lucy, you’ve got a lot
safe. Let’s get out of here! of explaining to do.
Ruby knows
You don’t a little, but let me
have to tell you guys what
tell me has happened
twice. to me lately.

as they head home, lucinda at an undisclosed

tells them about her powers. Lucinda Hene and her laser powers are
location.
the final components needed for my
But what do I don’t super laser captivator to function!
you think know? She passed all my tests, I now know her
Miss Alignment strengths and weaknesses! I can’t wait
meant when until we meet again! I have
she said that special plans for SPECTRA!
she wants
to use you?
HA! HA!
HA! To Be Continued...
Go online and keep up with ®
Follow: SpectraStar, RockerKas, Gordy18,
Spectra and her friends! Spectra’s World ® Red Rothko and MsAlignment
The PhysicsQuest Materials
The PhysicsQuest kit includes this manual and most of the hardware Safety
your students need to complete the activities. There is also a While following the precautions in this guide can help teachers
corresponding website, www.physicscentral.com/physicsquest, which foster inquiry in a safe way, no manual could ever predict all of the
has supplemental material such as extension activities. problems that might occur. Good supervision and common sense
are always needed. Activity-specific safety notices are included in
The comic book the Teacher Guide when appropriate.
Each activity will be preceded by several pages of a comic book that will
follow the adventures of Spectra. The comic is also available online. Time Required
Students will complete the activity and in the end they will need their The time required to complete the PhysicsQuest activities will
answers to all four answers to help Spectra free her friends from the depend on your students and their lab experience. Most groups
clutches of Miss Alignment. will be able to complete one activity in about 45-minutes.

The Teacher’s Guide for each activity includes:

• Key Question Small Groups
• This question highlights the goal of the activity Working effectively in a group is one of the most important parts of scientific
inquiry. If working in small groups is challenging for your students, you might
• Key Terms consider adopting a group work model such as the one presented here.

This section lists terms related to the activity that the students will Group Work Model
encounter in the Student Guide. Give each student one of the following roles. You may want to have them
• Before the Activity rotate roles for each activity so they can try many different jobs
• Students should be familiar with these concepts
and skills before tackling the activity. • Lab Director: Coordinates the group and keeps students on task.
• After the Activity • Chief Experimenter: Sets up the equipment and makes sure the
procedures are carried out correctly.
By participating in the activity, students are practicing the skills and
studying the concepts listed in this section. • Measurement Officer: Monitors data collection and determines
the values for each measurement.
• The Science Behind
• Report Writer: Records the results and makes sure all of the
This section includes the science behind the activity, and some historical questions in the Student Guide are answered.
background. The Student Guide does not include most of this informa-
tion; it is left to you to decide what to discuss with your students. • Equipment Manager: Collects all equipment needed for the
experiment. Makes sure equipment is returned at the end of the class
• Safety period and that the lab space is clean before group members leave.
This section highlights potential hazards and safety precautions.

• Materials Using PhysicsQuest in the Classroom

This section lists the materials needed for the activity. Materials that are This section suggests ways to use PhysicsQuest in the classroom.
provided in the kit are in bold type; you will need to provide the rest. Since logistics and goals vary across schools, please read through
the suggestions and then decide how best to use PhysicsQuest.
• Extension Activities Feel free to be creative!
Extension activities related to each activity can be found on the Physics-
Quest website. This section gives a brief description of those related to
the activity. Using PhysicsQuest as a stand-alone activity
PhysicsQuest is designed to be self-contained – it can be easily
• Bibliography and Suggested Resources done as a special project during the day(s) following a test,
This section lists the books and other resources used to create this immediately preceding/following winter break, or other such times.
activity and recommended resources for more information on the topics PhysicsQuest also works well as a science club activity and extra
covered. credit opportunity.

The Student’s Guide for each activity includes: PhysicsQuest as a integrated

• The Student Guide part of regular curriculum
Each activity has a Student Guide that you will need to copy and hand
out to all of the students. In addition, you will need to copy the Physics- The topics covered in PhysicsQuest are covered in many physical
Quest Challenge / Final Report and comic panel inserts and hand them science classes, so you might have students do the PhysicsQuest
out to your students when you first start the PhysicsQuest activities activities during the corresponding units.

• Key Question
This question highlights the goal of the activity.
PhysicsQuest as an all-school activity
Some schools set up PhysicsQuest activity stations around the
school gym for one afternoon. Then small groups of students work
• Materials through the stations at assigned times.
This section lists the materials students will need for the activity.

• Getting Started PhysicsQuest as a mentoring activity

This section includes discussion questions designed to get students Some teachers have used PhysicsQuest as an opportunity for
thinking about the key question, why it’s important, and how they might older students to mentor younger students. In this case, 8th or 9th
find an answer. grade classes first complete the activities themselves, and then go
into 6th or 7th grade classrooms and help students with the
• The Experiment activities.
This section leads students step-by-step through the set-up and data
collection process. INCLUDED WITH KIT:
• PhysicsQuest manual • Blue transparency film (1)
• Analyzing Your Results • Red Laser Pointer (1) • Violet transparency film (1)
This section leads students through data analysis and has questions for
• Diffraction Grating Card Kit (1) • Red transparency film (1)
them to answer based on their results.
• LED Flashlight (1) • Yellow transparency film (1)
• 0.5 in. Binder Clips (3) • Polarizing Filters (3)
Materials List • Phosphorescent Vinyl Square (1)
The PhysicsQuest kit comes with only one set of materials. This means
that if your students are working in four small groups (recommended), all
groups should work simultaneously on different activities and then rotate NOT included with kit: Tape, Meter stick, 3 x 5 index cards,
activities, unless you provide additional materials. The Materials List on Large sheet of blank paper, protractor, human hair
the PhysicsQuest website includes specific descriptions of the materials
and where they can be purchased. All materials can be reused.
www.physicscentral.com

TM

www.aps.org
American Physical Society
One Physics Ellipse
College Park, MD 20740-3844

PhysicsQuest, Spectra, Miss Alignment

and all related characters are
copyrights of the
American Physical Society © 2010
All Rights Reserved - (3rd Printing/ Jan. 2010)

Created by Rebecca Thompson-Flagg and Kerry G. Johnson