A light wave which is vibrating

in more than one plane is

referred to as unpolarized
light. Light emitted by the sun,
by a lamp in the classroom, or
by a candle flame is unpolarized
light.
Such light waves are created by
electric charge which vibrates in
a variety of directions, thus
creating an electromagnetic
wave which vibrates in a variety
of directions.
1
 It is possible to transform unpolarized
light into polarized light. Polarized
light waves are light waves in which
the vibrations occur in a single plane.
The process of transforming
unpolarized light into polarized light is
known as polarization
 light wave is actually two waves, in
phase and oriented at 90o to each other.
 One wave is E, the electric field vector
and the other is B, the magnetic field
vector.
When interacting with matter, the E wave
is much more important than the B wave.
So for simplicity the B wave is ignored
The most common method of polarization
involves the use of a Polaroid filter.
Polaroid filters are made of a special
material which is capable of blocking one of
the two planes of vibration of an
electromagnetic wave.
Polaroid* is a material, usually plastic, which
allows light to pass but only where the wave
oscillates in ONE particular orientation.
This kind of filter is made up of parallel
strands of long molecules. Let's think of a
lens where these strands are horizontal. The
energy of the horizontal components of light
is absorbed by the strands, so this part
cannot pass through.
 Thevertical components can pass
through, however, because the horizontal
strands cannot absorb their energy.

 When unpolarized light is transmitted

through a Polaroid filter, it emerges with
one-half the intensity and with vibrations
in a single plane; it emerges as polarized
light.
Non-polarized lenses do not contain a filter to remove glare.
Polarized lenses have a filter laminated on them that only allows
vertically oriented light to pass through, while non-polarized lenses are
usually just tinted to block light
A picket-fence analogy is often used to explain how this
works!!
 The spaces between the pickets of
the fence will allow vibrations which
are parallel to the spacings to pass
through while blocking any vibrations
which are perpendicular to the
spacings.
 In the same manner, two Polaroid
filters oriented with their polarization
axes perpendicular to each other will
block all the light.
 photography
 In certain kinds of sunglasses

 digital watches

 laptop screens

What does polarization have to do with

sunglasses?
Fishermen often wear polarizing
sunglasses to try to reduce
reflected glare off of the surface of
the water.
 Consider the wave motion of the
slinky as shown below.

Is it possible to polarize the wave shown

above?
Describe the result of shining light
through two polarizing filters whose
transmission axes are parallel to each
other.
 For most antennas it is very easy to
determine the polarization. It is simply
in the same plane as the elements of
the antenna. So a vertical antenna (i.e.
one with vertical elements) will receive
vertically polarised signals best and
similarly a horizontal antenna will
receive horizontally polarised signals.
 This simple concept is important for
antenna to antenna communication.
First, a horizontally polarized antenna
will not communicate with a vertically
polarized antenna

 Vertical polarisation is often used for

mobile radio communications
 When two progressive waves of the same
type coincide, they superpose. The results
of the superposition is interference.
-Principle of Superposition: When two
waves meet, the instantaneous
displacement is the vector sum of the
individual displacements due to each wave
at that point.
-Interference effects however are not easy to
achieve.
 Waves must be of the same type- cant
combine light and sound waves
 Light waves and x-rays may be combined
because they are both electromagnetic.
 -Discuss interference of
 (a) Light
 (b) Microwaves
 (c) Sound
 Patterns are too close and so to optimize:
 (i) closer sources
 (ii) increase distance between sources
and screen
 (iii) increase wavelength/ decrease
frequency
 (effect of monochromatic vs. colours on
pattern)
We can explain the pattern in terms of
path difference. Suppose we go along the
centre line between the two sources. At
all points we are the same distance from
either of the sources. There is zero path
difference. Since the waves are in phase
and produced at the same frequency and
travelling at the same speed, they must
still be in phase. So they must reinforce-
constructive interference
What is meant by the term path difference?
How is it measured?
Itis the difference in the distance between
two wave sources.

It is measured in half-wavelengths .

Regions of constructive interference

symmetrically on either side of the centre
line. Thus the waves must be in phase. This
is because the waves have a path difference
of one or more whole wavelengths.
When the laser shines on the double slit, all the
waves are in phase so the slits act as coherent
sources. In the diagram the point O is the centre
point on the screen and is equidistant from the two
sources. Therefore there must be reinforcement,
because the waves arrive in phase. A bright fringe
is produced. This fringe is made by waves whose
path difference is zero.
y = Dλ/a
y = fringe spacing,
D= distance between slits and screen(of the
order of meters
a =slit spacing (less than 1 mm)
For constructive interference.
If the path difference contains a whole no of wavelengths i.e. n λ

0 or
2 half λ
4 half λ
6 half λ etc.

For destructive interference: odd number of half λ

The figure below shows the light and dark fringes in a typical double-
slit interference pattern. The diagram is drawn to full scale.

Fringe O is the bright fringe at the centre of the pattern, A is a bright fringe and
B is a dark fringe. For each of these fringes, state in terms of the wavelength λ,
the value of the path difference for light coming from each slit.

fringe O path difference =

fringe A path difference =
fringe B path difference =
Monochromatic light is normally used:
Measuring D
Measuring Y

-Increasing the width of the slits- brighter pattern on

screen
-increasing the distance between the slits- less overlap
area so fewer fringes
-Use of white light- fewer fringes but central will be white
while the others will be coloured.
Effect of using different colours- Know your E-M
spectrum (MONOCHROMATIC)
If the slit is narrow, the
diffraction is more
marked .
The wavelength remains

the same.
Diffraction does not

need a slit. Waves can

bend round a barrier by
diffraction. Radio signals
can be picked up behind
hills for this reason.
The longer the

wavelength, the more the

 Double slit pattern Three-slit pattern

The fringes of the double There is a subsidiary

slit pattern fade away maximum between the
from centre and double slit maxima.The
disappear at the single fringes become narrower
slit minimum. and sharper.
http://www.matter.org.uk/schools/Content/Interference/gratings.html
The intensity distribution in the diffraction
pattern for a large number of slits is shown in
Figure 5. Notice that the maxima become much
sharper; the greater the number of slits per
metre, the better defined are the maxima.
  The fringes
become sharper
as the number of
slits is increased.
 The subsidiary
maxima become
less and less
significant as the
number of slits is
increased.
http://www.matter.org.uk/schools/Content/Interference/gratingExplored.html
-CONSISTS OF A LARGE NUMBER OF EQUALLY
SPACED PARALLEL SLITS.
-THERE ARE FINE LINES RULED WITH
DIAMOND TIP ON GLASS OR PLASTIC.
-IT IS GENERALLY USED TO MEASURE λ
ACCURATELY.
Why do we need a grating?
The diffraction grating can be used to split
light into different wavelengths with a high
degree of accuracy, much more so than glass
prisms.
A transmission grating has clear
spaces between the lines so that light
can pass through it. A reflection
grating has a shiny surface between the
lines so that light gets reflected off it. A
compact disc (CD) acts as a reflection
grating.
The diffraction grating has the
advantage over the double slit method
of measuring wavelength in that:
the maxima are more sharply defined;
the beam passes through more slits

than
two so the intensity is higher.
the angles are larger so that they can

be
measured with greater precision.
GRATING ANGLE
 Diffraction Grating
 A diffraction grating can be thought of as an
optical component that has tiny grooves cut
into it. The grooves are cut so small that
their measurements approach the wave
length of light.
When a parallel beam of monochromatic
light is directed normally (at right angles to
it!) at a diffraction grating, light is
transmitted by the grating in certain
directions only.
 This is because:
 the light passing through each slit is
diffracted,
 the diffracted light waves from adjacent
slits reinforce each other in certain
directions only, including the incident
light direction, and cancel out in all
other directions.
 Diffraction Gratings

 A diffraction grating
splits a plane wave
into a number of
subsidiary waves
which can be
brought together to
form an interference
pattern.
 Action of Diffraction Grating
 If d is the slit spacing then
X the path difference
between the light rays X
θ and Y = d sin θ.
 For principal maxima,
θ Y d sin θ = nλ.
d  The closer the slits, the
θ more widely spaced are
the diffracted beams.
Path difference  The longer the wavelength
= d sin θ
of light used, the more
widely spaced are the
diffracted beams.
 Itis excellent at separating the colors in
incident light because different
wavelengths are diffracted at different
angles, according to the grating
relationship:
 d sinθ = nλ
where
 d is the distance between the slits
 θ is the angle of diffraction
 λ is the wavelength of the light
 n is the order of diffraction
Diffraction Grating
 A grating consists of a large
number of uniformly spaced
slits.
– Measured in slits per cm
– Example: 50,000 /cm equals
200 nm spacing

 Though it uses interference,

it is called a diffraction
grating.
– Large number of scatterers,
like diffraction
 Using a diffraction grating to
measure the wavelength of light
 A spectrometer is a device to measure
wavelengths of light accurately using diffraction
grating to separate.

Turntable
Collimator C Diffraction grating

Light θ
Telescope T
source
Achromatic Eyepiece
lenses Eye
Cross-wire
Spectrometer
View through Diffraction Grating

 Spectrum of a star
 Diffraction grating - Procyon
placed in front of a
methane air flame
Visible Orders
 The number of orders of spectra visible
with a given grating depends on the
grating spacing, more spectra being
visible with coarser gratings. The ruled
face of the grating should always point
away from the incident light to prevent
errors due to changes of direction
because of refraction in the glass
The diagram shows a central white fringe
with three spectra on either side giving a
total of seven images.
 The number of slits per metre on the
grating, N = 1/ d where d is the grating
spacing.
 For a given order and wavelength, the
smaller the value of d, the greater the
angle of diffraction. In other words, the
larger the number of slits per metre, the
bigger the angle of diffraction.
 Fractions of a degree are usually
expressed either as a decimal or in
minutes (abbreviated ') where 1° = 60'.
Typical Question
 Calculatethe maximum number of
orders visible with a diffraction grating of
500 lines per millimetre, using light of
wavelength 600 nm.
 To find the maximum number of orders
produced, substitute = 90 ° (sin = 1) in
the grating equation and calculate n
using n = d/ ‫ג‬.
 The maximum number of orders is
given by the value of d/ ‫ ג‬, rounded
down to the nearest whole number.
Number of Diffraction beams
 Since sin θ  1,
n=2 n
 1
θ2 n=1 d
θ1 d
θ1 n=0 n 
θ2
n=1

The highest order number
n=2 is given by the value of d/λ
rounded down to the nearest
whole number.