Interference

 Wave
 Wave Motion
 Mechanical Waves
 Types of Waves
 Interference
 The principle of Superposition
Wave
A disturbance which
carries energy from
one place to another
with out the transfer
of material of
medium is called
wave.
 Wave Motion Mechanical Waves
 Wave motion is a means for energy  Waves require material medium for their
and momentum to move from one propagation and travel through a
place to another without material deformable or elastic medium are called
mechanical waves.
particles moving along with the
wave .  Examples of mechanical waves are;
 Water waves
 Sound waves
Types of Waves
Transfer Waves Longitudinal Waves

Waves in which particle of the medium When the motion of the particles in a
oscillate perpendicular to the direction of mechanical wave is back and forth along
propagation of waves are called transverse the direction of propagation, we have
wave. longitudinal wave.
 Example; when string under tension is  Example; when a spring under tension is
set oscillating up down at one end, a set back and forth at one end, a
transverse wave is send up one end, a longitudinal wave travels along the
transverse wave travels along the string. spring.
What is the introduction of
interference?
Interference is the phenomenon in which two waves superpose to form the
resultant wave of the lower, higher or same amplitude. The most
commonly seen interference is the optical interference or light interference.
This is because light waves are generated randomly by most of the
sources.
What are the conditions for interference?

 The two conditions for this to happen are

 (i) The interfering waves must be coherent.
 (ii) The two sources must have zero phase difference or must have
constant phase difference.
 (iii) The path difference between the waves must be less than or equal
to coherence length.
The Principle of Superposition

 When two or more waves pass

simultaneously through the same region,
superposition takes place.
 It states that when several effects occur
simultaneously, their net effect is the
sum of individual effects.
What are three types of interference?

 There are three types of wave interference:

 constructive interference,
 destructive interference,
 partially destructive interference.
Constructive interference occurs when two waves meet and their wave swells align in such a
way that their amplitudes add together.
Coherent sources

 If light waves of the same wavelength are emitted from two sources with
a particular phase difference and if that phase difference is maintained
all along during propagation the those sources are called coherent
sources.
Interference of light

 If two light waves having same frequencies and amplitudes emitted from
two coherent sources pass through the same point in a medium , the
point becomes very bright when the two waves superpose at that point
with same phase and becomes dark if the two waves superpose with
opposite phase. This phenomenon of variation of intensity of light
created due to superposition of light-waves is called interference.
Constructive interference

If bright point is observed due to the superposition of two light waves having
same frequency and amplitude emitting from two sources , then that interference
is called constructive interference.

Figure 24.3 is a schematic diagram of some of the ways in which the two waves
can combine at screen. In Figure 24.3a, two waves, which leave the two slits in Figure 24.3 (a)
phase, strike the screen at the central point P. Because these waves travel equal Constructive
distances, they arrive in phase at P, and as a result, constructive interference interference occurs at P
occurs there and a bright fringe is observed. when the waves
combine.

In Figure 24.3b, the two light waves again start in phase, but the
upper wave has to travel one wavelength farther to reach point Q on
the screen. Because the upper wave falls behind the lower one by
exactly one wavelength, the two waves still arrive in phase at Q, so
a second bright fringe appears at that location.
(b) Constructive interference
also occurs at Q.
Destructive interference

If Dark point is observed due to the superposition of two light waves having same
frequency and amplitude emitting from two sources , then that interference is called
destructive interference.

in Figure 24.3c. At R, the upper wave has fallen half a

wavelength behind the lower wave. This means that the
trough of the bottom wave overlaps the crest of the upper
wave, giving rise to destructive interference. As a result, a
dark fringe can be observed at R.

Figure 24.3 (c) Destructive

interference occurs at R when
the wave from the upper slit falls
half a wavelength behind the
wave from the lower slit
 YOUNG’S DOUBLE-SLIT
EXPERIMENT

Thomas Young first demonstrated interference in light waves from two sources

Young’s experiment can be described quantitatively with the help of Figure given below.
Consider point P on the viewing screen; the screen is positioned a perpendicular
distance L from the screen containing slits S1 and S2, which are separated by distance d, and r1 and r2 are
the distances the secondary waves travel from slit to screen. We assume the waves emerging from S1 and
S2 have the same constant frequency, have the same amplitude, and start out in phase. The light intensity
on the screen at P is the result of light from both slits. A wave from the lower slit, however, travels farther
than a wave from the upper slit by the amount d sin  . This distance is called the path difference
where
Figure : A geometric construction that describes Young’s double-slit experiment.
The path difference between the two rays is r2  r1 d sin 
 Equation 24.1 assumes that the two waves travel in parallel lines, which is approximately
true, because L is much greater than d. As noted earlier, the value of this path difference
determines whether the two waves are in phase when they arrive at P. If the path difference
is either zero or some integral multiple of the wavelength, the two waves are in phase at P
and constructive interference results. Therefore, the condition for bright fringes, or
constructive interference, at P is

The number m is called the order number. The central bright fringe at bright 0 (m =
0) is called the zeroth-order maximum. The first maximum on either side, where m =
±1, is called the first-order maximum, and so forth.
When δ is an odd multiple of  / 2 , the two waves arriving at P are 180° out of phase
and give rise to destructive interference. Therefore, the condition for dark fringes, or
destructive interference, at P is

 /2
If m = 0 in this equation, the path difference is which is the condition for the
location of the first dark fringe on either side of the central (bright) maximum.
Likewise, if m 1, the path difference is 3/2, which is the condition for the second dark
fringe on each side, and so forth.
 Applying Physics

Television Signal Interference

Suppose you are watching television by means of an antenna rather than a cable system. If an airplane flies near your
location, you may notice wavering ghost images in the television picture. What might cause this phenomenon?

Explanation:

Television antenna receives two signals: the direct signal from the transmitting antenna and a signal reflected from the surface
of the airplane. As the airplane changes position, there are some times when these two signals are in phase and other times
when they are out of phase. As a result, the intensity of the combined signal received at the antenna will vary. The wavering of
the ghost images of the picture is evidence of this variation.