Interference, Diffraction and

polarization of light
Dr. Pintu Barman
Department Of Physics
Kamrup College, Chamata
 Single source
water wave Interference of waves
➢ Amplitude: Amplitude is the maximum displacement or distance
moved by a point on a vibrating body or wave measured from its
equilibrium position.
➢ Crest: A crest is a point on a surface wave where the displacement
of the medium is at a maximum.
➢ Trough: A trough is the opposite of a crest, so the minimum or
lowest point in a cycle.

• Crest of one wave Two Source Interference Pattern

coincides with the
second wave causing
constructive
interference.
• Crest of one wave
coincide with the
trough of second
wave causing
descructive
interference.

Transverse wave

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Interference of waves

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 Interference of light waves
Types of Interference of Light
The phenomenon of interference of light can be classified into two broad categories:

Constructive Interference
The constructive interference of light occurs when the crest of one wave perfectly gets coincided with the crest of the other waves.
During constructive interference, the light radiations are in phase with each other, which leads to a significant increase in the
intensity of the resultant light.
Destructive Interference
The destructive interference of light occurs when the two light waves meet each other out of phase. This means that the intensity of
the resultant light gets reduced by a certain amount.

Resultant intensity increases. Resultant intensity decreases.

• Soap bubbles are yet another example of the interference of light in real life.
• When the white light falls on the surface of the soap bubble and gets reflected from the top and bottom surface of
the soap bubble, only a few colours contained by the white light tend to experience constructive interference, while
the rest colours undergo destructive interference of light.
• The colours that encounter constructive interference are visible, while the rest colours get suppressed.

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 Application of destructive interference

➢ Noise cancellation is a method to reduce or completely cancel out undesirable sound.

➢ A noise-cancellation speaker emits a sound wave with the same amplitude, frequency but anti-
phase with the original sound.
➢ The waves will combine each other in a process called destructive interference, eventually the
waves will cancel each other and there would be no sound.
➢ The sum of the waves is equal to zero.

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 Young’s Double slit experiment
➢ What Is Young’s Double Slit Experiment?
Young’s double slit experiment uses two coherent sources of light placed at a small distance apart. Usually, only a few
orders of magnitude greater than the wavelength of light are used. Young’s double slit experiment helped in
understanding the wave theory of light.

• When light passes through narrow slits, it is diffracted into semicircular waves, as shown in Figure. Pure constructive interference occurs
where the waves are crest to crest or trough to trough. Pure destructive interference occurs where they are crest to trough. The light must
fall on a screen and be scattered into our eyes for us to see the pattern.

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 Conditions for constructive and destructive interference

To understand the double slit interference pattern, we consider how two waves travel from the slits to the screen, as illustrated in
Figure a and b. Each slit is a different distance from a given point on the screen. Thus different numbers of wavelengths fit into
each path. Waves start out from the slits in phase (crest to crest), but they may end up out of phase (crest to trough) at the screen if
the paths differ in length by half a wavelength, interfering destructively as shown in Figure a. If the paths differ by a whole
wavelength, then the waves arrive in phase (crest to crest) at the screen, interfering constructively as shown in Figure b. More
generally, if the paths taken by the two waves differ by any half-integral number of wavelengths [(1/2)λ, (3/2)λ, (5/2)λ, etc.], then
destructive interference occurs. Similarly, if the paths taken by the two waves differ by any integral number of wavelengths (λ, 2λ,
3λ, etc.), then constructive interference occurs.

Condition Constructive interference,

Path length difference , ( d sinθ) = mλ, where m=0,±1, ±2, ±3, ±4,…..
Condition destructive interference,
𝟏
Path length difference , ( d sinθ) = (m+ ) 𝝀, where m=0, ±1, ±2, ±3, ±4,…..
𝟐

where λ is the wavelength of the light, d is the distance between slits, and θ is the angle from the
original direction of the beam as discussed above. We call m the order of the interference.

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 Young’s Double slit Interference patterns

The equations for double slit interference imply that a series of bright and dark lines are formed. For vertical slits, the light spreads
out on either side of the incident beam into a pattern called interference fringes, illustrated in the above Figure. The intensity of the
bright fringes falls off on either side, being brightest at the center.

Coherent waves: waves are in phase or have a definite phase relationship

Incoherent wave: Waves have random phase relationships.
Fringe width: Fringe width is the distance between two successive bright fringes or two successive dark fringes. In the interference
pattern, the fringe width is constant for all the fringes. Fringe width is independent of order of fringe. Fringe width is directly
proportional to wavelength of the light used. It can be expressed as: β=λd/D
Central Bright Fringe: The central fringe is bright because light interferes constructively there. Additionally, the central
fringe is symmetrically the closest to the two light sources (slits). This is why the central fringe is the brightest and the
fringes keep getting gradually darker as one moves away from the centre.

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 Applications Interference patterns

Anti-Reflective Coating
➢ An antireflective or anti-reflection (AR) coating is a type of optical
coating applied to the surface of lenses and other optical elements to
reduce reflection.
➢ In typical imaging systems, this improves the efficiency since less
light is lost.
➢ In complex sytem such as a telescope, the reduction in reflection also
improves the contrast of the image by elimination of extra light.

Applications of interference: There are many technological applications of interference effects in light. Common antireflection
coatings on camera lenses are thin films with thicknesses and indices of refraction chosen to produce destructive interference on
reflection for visible light. More-specialized coatings, consisting of multiple layers of thin films, are designed to transmit light only
within a narrow range of wavelengths and thus act as wavelength filters. Multilayer coatings are also used to enhance the
reflectivity of mirrors in astronomical telescopes and in the optical cavities of lasers. The precision techniques of interferometry
measure small changes in relative distances by monitoring the fringe shifts in the interference patterns of reflected light. For
example, the curvatures of surfaces in optical components are monitored to fractions of an optical wavelength with interferometric
methods.

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 Diffraction of light
In physics, diffraction is a change in the direction of a sound wave or a light wave caused by the presence of an obstacle in its path.
The door is playing the
role of an obstacle in
the path of light wave
here and light waves
can enter a room
through gaps in the
door. These gaps are
acting like secondary
sources of light wave as
described by Huygens’s
principle

Suppose there is a dark room and through the window, there is a small hole.
When light enters through that tiny hole, We see that instead of just bright light,
we see a region of light and dark bands. This is nothing but the diffraction of
light.

Sun appears red during sunset: Light will diffract around the corner
of the The waves spread out from the opening
The reddish appearance of the sun during sunset or
sunrise is due to diffraction. Sunlight appears red
because light gets diffracted due to a dust particle in Generally, diffraction occurs when waves passes through small opening, around
the atmosphere. obstacles and sharp edges

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 Diffraction of light waves
What Is Diffraction?
Diffraction of light is defined as the bending of light around corners such that it spreads out and illuminates areas where a shadow is
expected. In general, it is hard to separate diffraction from interference since both occur simultaneously. The silver lining which we
witness in the sky is caused due to diffraction of light. When the sunlight passes through or encounters the cloud, a silver lining is seen
in the sky.

Types of Diffraction
We can categorise diffraction into two categories that are, Fresnel Diffraction
❑ Fraunhofer Diffraction If the light source and screen at which the diffraction pattern is
❑ Fresnel Diffraction obtained are at finite distances then the diffraction is called Fresnel
Diffraction. In Fresnel Diffraction, the shapes obtained from the
incident wavefronts are spherical. In this type of diffraction, a
Fresnel Diffraction convex lens is not required. Figure (a) shows Fresnel’s Diffraction.
Condistions for Fresnel diffraction are:
• Spherical or cylindrical wavefront undergoes diffraction
• Light wave is from a source at finite distance

Fraunhofer Diffraction
Fraunhofer Diffraction
When all the light rays passing through the narrow slit are parallel
to each other then the diffraction which occurs is called Fraunhofer
Diffraction. This diffraction is achieved by placing the light source
far away from the narrow slit. The screen and the source are at an
infinite distance from each other in this type of diffraction.
Fraunhofer Diffraction uses a convex lens to produce a diffracting
pattern.
Conditions for Fraunhofer diffraction are:
• Plane wavefront undergoes diffraction
• Light wave is from a source at infinity

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Difference between Fresnel and Frauhofer fiffraction

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 Single Slit Diffraction
In the single-slit diffraction experiment, we can observe the bending phenomenon of
light or diffraction that causes light from a coherent source to interfere with itself and
produce a distinctive pattern on the screen called the diffraction pattern. Diffraction is
evident when the sources are small enough that they are relatively the size of the
wavelength of light.

Diffraction of light waves through the edges and slits

Let a parallel beam of light fall normally on a single slit AB of width a as

shown in Figure. The diffracted beam falls on a screen kept at a distance. The
center of the slit is C. A straight line through C perpendicular to the plane of
slit meets the center of the screen at O. We would like to find the intensity at
any point P on the screen. The lines joining P to the different points on the slit
can be treated as parallel lines, making an angle θ with the normal CO.
All the waves start parallel to each other from different points
of the slit and interfere at point P and other points to give the resultant
intensities. The point P is in the geometrically shadowed region, up to which
the central maximum is spread due to diffraction. We need to give the
condition for the point P to be of various minima.
The basic idea is to divide the slit into much smaller even
number of parts. Then, add their contributions at P with the proper path
difference to show that destructive interference takes place at that point to
make it minimum. To explain maximum, the slit is divided into odd number of
parts.

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 Difference between Interference and diffraction

6 Regions of minimum intensity are perfectly Regions of minimum intensity are not
dark. perfectly dark.

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 Polarization of light
What Is Polarization?
Light is the interaction of electric and magnetic fields travelling through space. The electric and magnetic vibrations of a
light wave occur perpendicularly to each other. The electric field moves in one direction and the magnetic field in another
‘perpendicular to each other. So, we have one plane occupied by an electric field, another plane of the magnetic field
perpendicular to it, and the direction of travel is perpendicular to both. These electric and magnetic vibrations can occur in
numerous planes. A light wave that is vibrating in more than one plane is known as unpolarized light. The light emitted by
the sun, by a lamp or a tube light are all unpolarised light sources.

In this picture, the emitted light is unpolarized. The other

kind of wave is a polarized wave. Polarized waves are light
waves in which the vibrations occur in a single plane. Plane
polarized light consists of waves in which the direction of
vibration is the same for all waves. In the image above, you
can see that a plane polarized light vibrates on only one
plane. The process of transforming unpolarized light into
polarized light is known as polarization. The devices like the
polarizers you see are used for the polarization of light.

Types of Polarization
1. Linear Polarization: In linear polarization, the electric field of light is limited to a single plane along the direction of
propagation.
2. Circular Polarization: There are two linear components in the electric field of light that are perpendicular to each other such that
their amplitudes are equal, but the phase difference is π/2. The propagation of the occurring electric field will be in a circular
motion.
3. Elliptical Polarization: The electric field of light follows an elliptical propagation. The amplitude and phase difference between
the two linear components are not equal.

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 Polarization by Use of a Polaroid Filte
Methods Used in the Polarization of Light
There are a few methods used in the polarization of light:
• Polarization by Transmission
• Polarization by Reflection
• Polarization by Scattering
• Polarization by Refraction

Polarization by Reflection
Unpolarized light can also undergo polarization by reflection off of nonmetallic surfaces. The extent to which
polarization occurs is dependent upon the angle at which the light approaches the surface and upon the material that
the surface is made of. Metallic surfaces reflect light with a variety of vibrational directions; such reflected light is
unpolarized. However, nonmetallic surfaces such as asphalt roadways, snowfields and water reflect light such that
there is a large concentration of vibrations in a plane parallel to the reflecting surface. A person viewing objects by
means of light reflected off of nonmetallic surfaces will often perceive a glare if the extent of polarization is large.
Fishermen are familiar with this glare since it prevents them from seeing fish that lie below the water. Light reflected
off a lake is partially polarized in a direction parallel to the water's surface. Fishermen know that the use of glare-
reducing sunglasses with the proper polarization axis allows for the blocking of this partially polarized light. By
blocking the plane-polarized light, the glare is reduced and the fisherman can more easily see fish located under the
water.

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The glare is the result of a large concentration of light aligned parallel to the surface.To block such plane-polarized light, a filter with a vertically
aligned polarization axis must be used

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 3D GLASS

The left and right filters have different polarizations, so each eye receives
only the image with the matching polarization. This is used to produce a
three-dimensional effect by projecting the same scene into both eyes, but
depicted from slightly different perspectives with different polarizations.
o To see the picture in 3D, the viewer needs to wear glasses made of
polarized as shown in the picture. Each eye sees a separate picture,
just as in real life.
o The brain then interprets the two pictures as a single picture with
depth.

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Polarization by Refraction
Polarization can also occur by the refraction of light. Refraction occurs when a beam of light passes from
one material into another material. At the surface of the two materials, the path of the beam changes its
direction. The refracted beam acquires some degree of polarization. Most often, the polarization occurs in a
plane perpendicular to the surface. The polarization of refracted light is often demonstrated in a Physics
class using a unique crystal that serves as a double-refracting crystal. Iceland Spar, a rather rare form of the
mineral calcite, refracts incident light into two different paths. The light is split into two beams upon
entering the crystal. Subsequently, if an object is viewed by looking through an Iceland Spar crystal, two
images will be seen. The two images are the result of the double refraction of light. Both refracted light
beams are polarized - one in a direction parallel to the surface and the other in a direction perpendicular to
the surface. Since these two refracted rays are polarized with a perpendicular orientation, a polarizing filter
can be used to completely block one of the images. If the polarization axis of the filter is aligned
perpendicular to the plane of polarized light, the light is completely blocked by the filter; meanwhile the
second image is as bright as can be. And if the filter is then turned 90-degrees in either direction, the second
image reappears and the first image disappears.

Polarization by Transmission- In this method, involves the use of filter materials

that have special chemical composition. They are known as Polaroid filters. These
polaroid filters can block one of the two planes of electromagnetic waves. When the
unpolarized light is transmitted through these polaroid filters, it filters out one-half of
the vibrations of the light in a single plane. This polarized light has one half of the
intensity.

Polarization by Scattering- When light travels through a medium, atoms of the

medium (also the dust present in the medium) vibrate and produce
electromagnetic waves. These waves are radiated outwards and thus the light is
scattered. In this entire process, absorption and remission of light waves occur
throughout the material. The scattered light is also known as partially polarized.
Transmission of these partially polarised lights causes glare.

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 Thank
You

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