Resolvance of Diffraction Gratings In order to know if a diffraction grating is able to resolve two wavelengths, the resolving power of the diffraction grating must be found This is based on the Ra...
Rayleigh Criterion Calculations The Rayleigh Criterion can be mathematically described by considering angular separation and single-slit diffraction Angular separation can be calculated using the e...
Diffracting Aperture A circular aperture allows a cone of light to enter a region behind the aperture Examples of circular aperture include: A lens within an optical device such as a camera The pup...
Thin Film Interference Thin film interference causes the iridescence seen in: Nature on peacock feathers Glossy flower petals Soap bubbles The shiny side of a CD Thin layers - or films - of oil on ...
The Diffraction Grating Equation The angles at which the maxima of intensity (constructive interference) are produced can be deduced by the diffraction grating equation: The lines per m (or per mm,...
Diffraction Grating Patterns A diffraction grating is a plate consisting of a very large number of parallel, identical, close-spaced slits When monochromatic light is incident on a grating, a patte...
Two-Slit Interference Patterns For two-source interference fringes to be observed, the sources of the wave must be: Coherent (constant phase difference) Monochromatic (single wavelength) When two w...
Young’s Double-Slit Experiment Young’s double-slit experiment demonstrates how light waves can produce an interference pattern The setup of the experiment is shown below: Young’s double-slit experi...
Intensity of Interference Maxima & Minima Using different sources of monochromatic light demonstrate that: Increasing the wavelength increases the width of the fringes The angle of diffraction ...
