PHY2606/204/0/2024

PHY2606/206/0/2022

Tutorial
Tutorial Letter
Letter 204/0/2024
206/0/2022

Waves

PHY2606

Year module

Department of Physics

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:
Dear Student,
This
This tutorial
tutorial letter
letter deals
deals with
with the
the problems
problems of
of assignment
assignment 06.
04.

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QUESTION 4 Question 1
(a) The dark fringes in the interference pattern from two slits separated by d are located at
angles µ ¶
1
d sin θ = m+ λ, m = 0, ±1, ±2, . . .
2
in which (assuming that the screen is at a distance L À d from the slits)
z
sin θ ' tan θ =
L
for z the distance on the screen from the centre of the screen to the mth-order fringe.
Thus, we have
µ ¶ µ ¶
z 1 1 λL
d = m+ λ =⇒ z = m+ , m = 0, ±1, ±2, . . .
L 2 2 d

for the distances of the dark fringes from the centre of the screen.

The third dark fringe corresponds to m = 2 (or m = −2), while the sixth dark fringe
corresponds to m = 5 (or m = −5). The distance between them is therefore
µ ¶ µ ¶
1 λL 1 λL λL
∆z = 5+ − 2+ = 3
2 d 2 d d

Given that d = 1.2 mm, L = 3.6 m, and ∆z = 5.3 mm, the wavelength of the light
follows as
d ∆z (1.2 × 10−3 m) × (5.3 × 10−3 m)
λ = = = 5.889 × 10−7 m = 588.9 nm
3L 3 × (3.6 m)

(b) For diffraction from a single slit of width a, the condition for destructive interference on
a screen a distance L À a away is
z
a sin θ ' a = Mλ M = ±1, ±2, ±3, . . .
L
Given that a = 0.15 mm, L = 3.6 m, and λ = 588.9 nm from part (a), the diffraction
minima closest to the centre of the screen, on either side of the z = 0 intensity peak, are
at

M = +1 =⇒ z = λ L/a = 0.01413 m
M = −1 =⇒ z = − λ L/a = − 0.01413 m

Hence the total width of the central diffraction maximum is

0.01413 − (− 0.01413) = 0.02826 m (2.826 cm)

16
The number of bright interference fringes contained within this peak follows from an
equation for the positions of constructive interference in the two-slit pattern:
z mλL
d sin θ ' d = mλ =⇒ z =
L d
so if a bright fringe is observed at position z, its order is
d
m = z×
λL
The bright fringes appearing within the central diffraction peak must have positions
−0.01413 < z < +0.01413 metres, and hence orders
d d
− 0.01413 × < m < + 0.01413 ×
λL λL
(0.01413 m) × (1.2 × 10−3 m) (0.01413 m) × (1.2 × 10−3 m)
− < m <
(588.9 × 10−9 m) × (3.6 m) (588.9 × 10−9 m) × (3.6 m)
−8 < m < 8

Consequently, there are fifteen bright fringes (those with m = −7, −6, . . . , +6, +7)
contained within the central diffraction peak in this case.

27
 Question 2
Thus, the full set of points between the sources (with −5 < xm < +5) at which there is
destructive interference is

xm = − 4.5 m, − 1.5 m, + 1.5 m, + 4.5 m

(b) The total volume is a maximum at points xm where there is constructive interference
between the waves from the two sources. From Question 5, the condition for this is that
the path difference, (x1 − x2 ), be an integer multiple of the wavelength. That is,
λ
2 xm = mλ =⇒ xm = m = 3m metres [m = 0, ±1, ±2, . . .]
2
where again we have used λ = 6 m to obtain the final equality. To find the positions xm
between the speakers where this equation is satisfied, we set m = 0, m = ±1, m = ±2,
and so on, in turn:

m = 0 =⇒ xm = 0
m = + 1 =⇒ xm = +3 m
m ≥ + 2 =⇒ xm ≥ +6 m
m = − 1 =⇒ xm = −3 m
m ≤ − 2 =⇒ xm ≤ −6 m

Thus, the full set of points between the sources (with −5 < xm < +5) at which there is
constructive interference is

xm = − 3 m, 0, + 3 m

QUESTION 7

The condition for constructive interference (bright fringes) in a double-slit (or Young’s)
experiment is
d sin θ = mλ m = 0, ±1, ±2, . . .
while the condition for destructive interference (dark fringes) is
µ ¶
1
d sin θ = m+ λ m = 0, ±1, ±2, . . .
2
If the distance L from the slits to a screen where the interference pattern is observed is much
larger than the separation d between the slits, then the approximation
z
sin θ ' tan θ =
L
39
is guaranteed to be a good one. Here z is the linear distance from the centre of the screen
(the point directly opposite the midpoint between the two slits) to any point on the screen.

Combining these relations, the distance from the centre of the screen to the mth bright fringe
is
zm mλL
d = mλ =⇒ zm (bright) =
L d
while the distance from the centre of the screen to the mth dark fringe is
(m + 1/2)λL
zm (dark) =
d
Thus, the distance between the mth bright fringe and the mth dark fringe, which immediately
neighbours it, is
1 λL
∆z = zm (dark) − zm (bright) =
2 d
which is independent of the order, m. Given in this case that λ = 533 nm = 5.33 × 10−7 m ;
d = 1.2 mm = 1.2 × 10−3 m ; and ∆ z = 1.1 mm = 1.1 × 10−3 m, we have
.
L = 2d ∆z λ = 4.95 m
for the distance from the slits to the screen.

QUESTION 8
Question 3
The condition for destructive interference in a single-slit diffraction pattern on a screen far
from the slit is
a sin θ = M λ M = 0, ±1, ±2, . . .
where a is the width of the slit and
z
sin θ ' tan θ =
L
if L is the distance from the slit to the screen (and L À a), and z is the distance measured
on the screen from the centre to the position of the M th-order intensity minimum (dark
fringe).

Here we are given that a = 0.3 mm, that L = 2 m, and that z = 3.7 mm for the first-order
minimum i.e., for M = +1 (and, equivalently, z = −3.7 mm for M = −1). Thus, the
wavelength of the light follows from
a sin θ az
λ = = =⇒
M ML
(0.3 × 10−3 m)(3.7 × 10−3 m)
λ= = 5.55 × 10−7 m = 555 nm
1 × (2 m)

410
Question 4