Birla Institute of Technology

Department of Physics

PHYSICAL OPTICS

1. Distinguish between polarised and unpolarised light.

2. Consider two crossed polaroids placed in the path of an unpolarised beam of intensity I0.
If place a third Polaroid in between the two, then in general some light will be transmitted
through. Explain this phenomenon.

3. Assuming the pass axis of the third Polaroid in the previous question to be at 45 ̊ to the
pass axis of either of the polaroids, calculate the intensity of the transmitted beam.
Assume that all the polaroids are perfect. [Hint: Apply Malus’ law]

4. Find the Brewster angle for the glass of refractive index 1.5. [Hint: μ = tan ip]

5. What is interference? What are the conditions essential for observing interference
fringes?

6. Explain why coherent light is essential to observe stationary interference pattern? How
can coherent sources be obtained in practice?

7. Is it possible to observe interference fringes with light emanating from two independent
sources? If not, why?

8. A parallel beam of sodium light (5890Å) strikes a film of oil floating on water. When
viewed at an angle of 30˚ from the normal 8th dark band is seen. Determine the thickness
of the film.

9. Show that the diameters of Newton’s dark rings are proportional to the square roots of
natural numbers?

10. Why the interference fringes observed in Newton’s rings are circular?

11. A soap film of 𝜇 = 4/3 is illuminated by white light incident at an angle of 45˚. In
reflected light dark band was found corresponding to wavelength 5500Å. Calculate
thickness of the film.
12. White light is reflected from an oil film of thickness 0.01mm and refractive index 1.4 at
an angle 0f 45˚ to the vertical. If the reflected light falls on the slit of a spectrometer,
calculate the number of dark bands seen between wavelengths 4000Å and 5000Å.
13. In a Newton’s ring arrangement, if a plano-convex lens of radius 300𝑐𝑚 is placed on an
optically flat glass plate and is illuminated by monochromatic light .The diameter of the
8𝑡ℎ dark ring in the transmitted system is 0.72𝑐𝑚. Calculate the wavelength of light used.
14. What is the distance between the slit and the screen be located if the first minimum in the
diffraction pattern is at a distance 1.00 mm from the centre of the screen? Calculate the
width of the central maximum.
15. A diffraction grating used at normal incidence gives line (5400 Å) in a certain order
superposed on the violet line (4050 Å) of the next higher order. How many lines per cm
are there in the grating if angle of diffraction is 300 ̊ ?
16. Deduce the missing order for a double slit Fraunhofer diffraction pattern, if the slit widths
are 0.17mm and they are 0.7mm apart.
17. A parallel beam of light of wave length 5461 Å is incident at an angle of 300 ̊ on a plane
transmission grating which as 6000 lines/cm. Find the highest order spectrum that can be
observed.
18. In Fraunhofer diffraction due to a narrow slit a screen is placed 2m away from the lens to
obtain the pattern. If the slit width is 0.2mm and the first minima lie 5mm on either side
of the central maxima, find the wavelength of light.
19. Deduce the missing order of the double slit Fraunhofer diffraction pattern if the slit width
is 0.16mm and they are 0.8mm apart.

20. In a plane transmission grating the angle of diffraction for the second order principal
maxima for wavelength 5 × 10−5cm is 30 ̊. Calculate the number of lines in one cm of the
grating surface.
21. What should be the minimum number of lines in a grating which will just resolve in the
second order the lines whose wavelength are 5890 Å and 5896 Å.
22. Why is interference not possible using light from two different sources like candles, bulbs
or lasers? What if we use one bulb instead of a sodium lamp in interference experiments?
23. Where exactly are the Newton’s rings formed?
24. Explain the terms ‘division of wavefront’ and ‘division of amplitude’ in interference.
Explain at least three examples of each type.
25. Are the Newton’s rings an example of fringes of equal thickness or equal inclination?
26. Differentiate between interference and diffraction.
27. How does light get polarized? Discuss its mechanism.
28. Differentiate between Fresnel’s and Fraunhofer diffraction.

ELECTROMAGNETIC THEORY

1. Obtain Gauss’s law of electrostatics in differential form.

2. Use the divergence theorem and the integral form of Gauss law to show ∇. 𝐷 = 𝜌
3. Derive the relation between electric filed and potential.
4. State and explain Gauss’s law of electrostatics in integral form.
5. Charge per unit length λ given to a wire of infinite length does not produce an infinite
electric field even in close proximity. Why?
6. What is the total flux through one of the sides of a regular cube due to a charge Q kept
right at its farthest corner (from the side under consideration)?
7. If you are to subject a charged particle to an electric field 100Vm-1 in some experiment
what all things do you require and how would you arrange them to achieve the said
objective
8. Electric charge is uniformly distributed throughout an infinitely long cylinder of radius R,
having a linear density of charge ρ. Obtain an expression for the electric field at a
distance r from the cylinder axis when (i) r > R. (ii) r < R.
9. (a) State and explain the Biot-Savart law.
(b) Use the Biot-Savart law to determine the magnetic field at a distance r from a straight
finite wire segment carrying a steady current I. What form does B take when the wire is
very long?
10. a) Write down Ampere’s law in integral and differential form.
b) Derive the differential form from the integral form

11. Use Ampere’s law to find the magnetic field B at a distance r from an infinite long
straight wire. Why can you not use this law to find B due to a finite length of wire?
12. An infinite long, straight cylindrical conductor of radius R is carrying a current I
uniformly distributed over its cross-section. Find the magnetic field at points at distance r
from its axis, located outside ( r > R) and inside ( r < R ) the conductor.
13. A circular loop of radius R is carrying a current I. Determine B at a point P on the axis
and at a distance z from the center of the coil.
14. Derive the relation between three electric vectors 𝐷 ⃗ ,𝐸⃗ 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑃⃗
15. State Faraday’s laws of electromagnetic induction. Explain how the direction of the
induced emf may be found.
16. Write down Maxwell equation in integral and differential form.
17. What is displacement current? Explain its physical significance. What are the
consequences of the introduction of displacement current density in Maxwells equation.
18. Show that the displacement current density between the capacitor plates is given by
dE
jd   o
dt
19. Show that the displacement current between the capacitor plates in a parallel plate
capacitor is equal to the conduction current in the connecting leads.
20. Derive the equation of continuity for charge using the law of charge conservation and the
divergence theorem.
21. From Maxwell’s equations show that any charge distribution in a conductor of
conductivity  is reduced to 1/e times the original one in a time 0
 /
22. Derive the wave equations for E and B from Maxwell’s equations. Discuss that
Maxwell’s equations lead to the existence of electromagnetic waves, having speed
1
c
( o o )
.
23. For plane electromagnetic waves propagating in free space, show that E, B and 𝑘 ⃗ are
mutually perpendicular. (Hint: use Maxwell’s equations).
a) Show that in an electromagnetic wave E and B are in phase.
b) Prove that
Eo  1
 c
Bo k  o o
 SPECIAL THEORY OF RELATIVITY:

1. (a) What are the postulates of Einstein’s special theory of relativity and discuss its
important applications.
(b) Distinguish between Galilean transformation and Lorentz transformation equations.
Deduce Galilean Transformations equation from the Lorentz Transformation equations.
(c) Prove that the two events
2. a) Derive Lorentz Transformation equations
b) Derive the relativistic length contractions using the Lorentz transformation.
c) Obtain an expression for the relativistic sum of two velocities.

3. Show that kinetic energy 𝐾 = (𝑚 − 𝑚0)2.

4. In terms of c, what is the speed of an electron whose kinetic energy is 100 Mev?
5. Prove that x2 + y2 + z2 = c2t2 is not invariant under Galilean Transformations but
invariant under Lorentz Transformations.
6. Calculate the percentage contraction in the length of a rod moving with a speed of 0.8c in
the direction at an angle of 60 ̊ with its own length.
7. Show how the relativistic invariance of the law of conservation of momentum leads to the
concepts of variation of mass with velocity and the equivalence of mass and energy.
8. For what velocity the mass of a particle becomes 5/4 times the rest mass of it?
9. What is the expression of the velocity of a particle in terms of relativistic momentum and
energy?
10. Space craft Alpha is moving at 0.90c w.r.t the earth. If spacecraft Beta is to pass Alpha at
a relative speed of 0.50c in the same direction, what speed must Beta have with respect to
the earth?
11. The rest mass of an electron is 9 × 10-31𝑘𝑔. What will be its mass if it were moving with
4/5th the speed of light?
12. Calculate the distance traversed by a particle during one mean life if it travels with a
speed of 2.22 x1010 cm/s. (Given: proper mean life= 2.5 x 10-8s)
13. The total energy of a particle is exactly twice its rest energy. Find its speed
14. Derive the relativistic relation for kinetic energy of a body and show that it reduces to the
non-relativistic form for low velocities.
15. Derive the formula 𝐸 2 = 𝑚02 𝑐 4 + 𝑝2 𝑐 2
16. A Rocket ship is 100 meter long on the ground. When it is in flight its length is 99 meters
to an observer on the ground. What is its speed?
17. Why travelling at light speed is so impossible?
18. A clock keeps correcting time. With what speed should it be moved relative to an
observer so that it may appear to lose 4 minute in 24 hours.
19. A space ship moving away from the earth with velocity 0.5c fires a rocket whose velocity
relative to spaceship is 0.8c a) away from the earth and b) towards the earth. What will be
the velocity if the rocket as observed from the earth in the two cases
20. Is it true that two events that occur at the same place and at the same time for one
observer will be simultaneous for all observers? Explain.
21. What happens to electric charge of particles moving at relativistic speeds?
22. Rockets A and B are observed from the earth to be travelling with velocities 0.8c and
0.7c in the same line in the same direction. What is the velocity of B as seen by an
observer of A.

QUANTUM MECHANICS

1. What does a black body mean? A hole in the wall of a cavity radiator is sometimes called
a black body. Why?
2. State the two postulates of theory of black body radiations. Write down the Planck’s
radiation formula and discuss the steps involved in deriving it.
3. How do you distinguish black body from a perfectly white body? Show that from the
Planck’s theory, the average energy of an oscillator of frequency  in thermal equilibrium
h
temperature T, is given by E  , where h is the Planck’s constant.
exp( h / kT )  1
4. (a) Describe briefly what Compton effect means. (b) How Compton Effect supports the
quantum theory of light? (c) Why is Compton Effect observed only with high frequency
radiations?
5. Show that (a) a free electron at rest cannot absorb a photon (hence Compton scattering
must occur with free electrons) and (b) a photon of wavelength undergoes Compton
scattering at an angle due to an electron at rest.
6. (a). Using Compton scattering show that the wavelength of the scattered photon is given
h
by      (1  cos  ) . (b) Why Compton scattering formula suggests that objects
m0 c
viewed from different angles should reflect light of different wavelengths. (c). Why don’t
we observe a change in color of objects as we change the viewing angle?
7. X-rays of wavelength 1 Å are scattered such an angle that the recoil electron has the
maximum kinetic energy. Calculate the wavelength of the scattered ray.
8. X-rays with λ=2Å are scattered from Nickel block. The scattered radiation is viewed at
900 to the incident beam. Find the Compton shift.
9. Explain de Broglie concept of matter waves. How does de Broglie relationship indicate
dual nature of matter?
10. Discuss Davison-Germer experiment for diffraction of electrons. Explain the significance
of the result.
11. Find the energy of a neutron in electron volts whose de Broglie wavelength is 1 Å.
(Given the mass of neutron = 1.67x10-27 kg. Planck’s constant h = 6.6x10-34 joule sec)
12. Calculate the de Broglie wavelength associated with proton moving with a velocity equal
to one twentieth of the velocity of light
13. State and explain Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle. Illustrate the principle with the help
of the single slit diffraction experiment.
14. For an electron moving with a velocity 3 × 107 m/s. Estimate the smallest possible
uncertainty in the position of the electron.
15. Explain the physical significance of wave function  to be well behaved? What is meant
by normalized wave function? Why  is to be normalized?
16. Starting with the differential equation of wave motion, obtain time-independent form of
Schrödinger’s wave equation.
17. Write the Schrödinger’s equation for a free particle of mass m. (b) Formulate problem of
a particle confined in one-dimensional infinitely deep potential well and obtain the eigen-
values and eigen-functions. (c) Explain whether the energy will be quantized
18. Derive the time dependent form of Schrödinger’s wave equation.
19. Write down the Schrödinger equation for a particle in a box. Solve it to obtain eigen
values and functions and show that the eigen values are discrete.
20. Calculate the least energy of an electron moving in one direction in an infinitely high
potential box of 1.0 × 10−10 𝑚 width. (h=6.63×10-34 Js; me = 9.1×10-31 Kg)

LASERS

1. Distinguish between spontaneous and stimulated emission. Derive the relation between
transition probabilities of spontaneous and stimulated emission.
2. What is population inversion? How it is achieved in Ruby laser? Describe the
construction of Ruby laser.
3. Describe with neat diagram the recording of a hologram. How does a hologram
differ from an ordinary photograph?
4. What is an optical fibre? How are they classified? Define numerical aperture.
5. What are the advantages of an optical fiber? How the optical fibers are used effectively
in communication
6. What are the characteristic properties of a Laser beam? Describe its important
applications.
7. (a) Explain the functioning of He-Ne laser with energy level diagram. (b) How fibre
optics would be used for communication?
8. Explain i) Atomic excitation ii) Transition process iii) Metastable state iv) Optical
pumping.
9. Calculate the number of photons emitted per second by a 5 mW laser assuming that it
emits light of wavelength 6328 A0.
10. Transition occurs between a metastable state E3 and an energy state E2, just above the
ground state. If the emission is 1.1 micrometers and E2 = 0.4 x 10-19 J. Find the energy of
the E3 state.
11. Find the numerical aperture, the acceptance angle of a step index fibre for which n 1 = 1.5
and n2 = 1.48 and n0 = 1.
12. An optical fibre has a NA of 0.20 and a cladding refractive index of 1.59. Determine the
acceptance angle for the fibre in water with refractive index 1.33.
13. A pulsed laser emits light at wavelength of 694.4nm. The pulse duration is 12 ps and the
energy per pulse is 0.150 J. (a) what is the length of the pulse? (b) How many photons are
emitted in each pulse?