Wavefront

Wave Optics:
Lecture - 1
Jayant Nagda
Physics Educator
unacademy.com/@JayantNagda

B.Tech, IIT Bombay

IIT-JEE AIR - 161

9+ Years of Teaching Experience at

3 Coaching Institutes (multiple under 15 AIRs)

In top 1% INPhO
 Live & Recorded Lectures
Quizzes & Test Series
Dedicated Doubt Sessions
Personalized Interaction

unacademy.com/plus
JEELIVE
PLUS Courses
Step 1 Step 2

INSTALL
Step 3 Step 4 Step 5

Rahul

IITJEE
Step 6 Step 7

JEELIVE

27,000
43,200
WAVE OPTICS

Particle Nature VS Wave Nature

Particle nature vs Wave nature

Collection of particles

tiny corpuscles of light called Photons

Isaac Newton
(1642 - 1726)
Book Optiks
Particle nature vs Wave nature

tiny corpuscles of light called Photons

not acted upon by

external forces

Proof : light travels in straight lines & casts shadows.

Particle nature vs Wave nature

tiny corpuscles of light called Photons

Reflection : Elastic Collisions

Particle nature vs Wave nature

tiny corpuscles of light called Photons

Refraction : particles of denser medium

attract light particles causing bending.

Isaac Newton
(1642 - 1726)
Particle nature or Wave nature In 1678, Huygens published
Traité de la Lumière, suggesting
that Light is a wave phenomenon

Christiaan Huygens
(1629 - 1695) Straight line because wavelength of light is much
smaller than the dimensions of obstacles in its path.
Particle nature or Wave nature

Interference experiment in 1801

Light from two sources producing Maxima & Minima.

Thomas Young
(1773 - 1829)
Particle nature or Wave nature

Pattern if Light is considered a stream of Particles

Thomas Young
(1773 - 1829)
Thomas Young disproved Newton's corpuscular theory.
Particle nature or Wave nature Properties that support wave nature
Interference, Diffraction, Polarization
Contributions of Fresnel, Foucault, Maxwell for wave nature of light

Predicted the existence of

electromagnetic waves
James Clerk Maxwell

Light is a photon

Albert Einstein
Photoelectric Effect

Hallwachs & Lenard’s experiment in 1900, Photoelectric effect.

Light falling on metal surface,

ejects e-s
whose K.E. does not depends upon
intensity of light used.

Albert Einstein, in 1905 proposed Dual Behaviour,

wave or particle depending on interaction with surrounding.
Even e-s which are particles have a dual character and
they show interference & diffraction under suitable situations.
Example MCQ type Question [ +4 , -1]

Light is
A. wave phenomenon

B. particle phenomenon
C. both particle and wave phenomenon
D. None
Wave Nature of Light

Wave ⟶ A travelling disturbance

Some physical quantity changing with space & time.

Transverse Wave
Wave Nature of Light

Wave ⟶ A travelling disturbance

Some physical quantity changing with space & time.

Longitudinal Wave
Wave Nature of Light

Wave ⟶ A travelling disturbance

Some physical quantity changing with space & time.
Mechanical Wave
y

direction of
propagation

y = y0 sin (ωt - kx) y = y0 sin ω(t - x/v)

y0 : amplitude v : wave speed

k : wave number ω : angular frequency

υ : frequency
Wave Nature of Light

Light waves ⟶ Electric field changes in space where light

travels.

Equation of light wave

E = E0 sin (ωt - kx)

E = E0 sin ω (t - x/c)

E : varying electric field at position x & time t

Electromagnetic Waves
Sinusoidally varying magnetic field associated with
electric field ⊥lr to electric field.

B = B0 sin ω (t - x/c)

E = E0 sin ω (t - x/c)

Such combination of
mutually perpendicular electric & magnetic fields
is referred to as an Electromagnetic Wave in vacuum.
Example MCQ type Question [ +4 , -1]

The equation of a light wave is written as

y = Asin (kx - ωt) Here, y represents

A. displacement of either particles

B. pressure in the medium

C. density of the medium
D. electric field or magnetic field
Wavefront

Contour of all particles which are vibrating in same phase

A surface joining the points of same phase.

The propagation of wave happens in

the direction perpendicular to the wavefront.
Wavefront

Contour of all particles which are vibrating in same phase

A surface joining the points of same phase.

The propagation of wave happens in

the direction perpendicular to the wavefront.
Wavefront Spherical Wavefront

λ
Light rays
Wavefronts

Rays are perpendicular to wavefronts.

Wavefront

Planar Wavefront

The time taken by light to travel from one

wavefront to another is same along any line.
Wavefront

Planar Wavefront

Rays are perpendicular to wavefronts.

The time taken by light to travel from one

wavefront to another is same along any line.
Example MCQ type Question [ +4 , -1]

What shape of wavefront is produced by a

uniform Linear Source of light wave?

A. Spherical
Cylindrical Wavefront
B. Planar
C. Cylindrical
D. Something else,
none of the above
Types of Wavefront Spherical Cylindrical
Plane
wavefront
wavefront wavefront

Point source Line source Source at ∞

Important points

1. Rays are perpendicular to wavefronts.

2. The time taken by light to travel from
one wavefront to another is same along any line.
Wavefront

Concept of Wavefront explains not just Reflection

Wavefront

and Refraction
Wavefront
but also explains

Interference Diffraction

Double Slit Experiment Single Slit Diffraction

Daily Practice Problems
Example The wave theory of light was given by
A. Maxwell

B. Planck

C. Huygens

D. Young

Ans : C
Example Wave nature of light is because

A. light rays travel in a straight line

B. light exhibits the phenomena of reflection and refraction

C. light exhibits the phenomenon of interference.diffraction,
polarisation etc

D. light causes the phenomenon of photoelectric effect

Ans : C
Example Ray optics are valid when characteristic dimensions are

A. of the same order as the wavelength of light

B. much smaller than the wavelength of light

C. much larger than the wavelength of light

D. of the order of I mm

Ans : A
Example Light appears to travel in straight lines since

A. it is not absorbed by the atmosphere

B. it is reflected by the atmosphere

C. its wavelength is very small

D. Its velocity is very large

Ans : C
Example Wavefront means
A. All particles in it have same phase

B. All particles have opposite phase of vibrations

C. few particles are in same phase, rest are in
opposite phase

D. None of these.

Ans : A
Example A wavefront and a ray of light are
A. perpendicular to each other

B. parallel to each other

C. converging towards each other

D. diverging from one another

Ans : A
Example What is the shape of the wavefront in each of the following
cases: (a) Light diverging from a point source.
(b) Light emerging out of a convex lens when a point
source is placed at its focus.
(c) The portion of the wavefront of light from a distant
star intercepted by the Earth

Source NCERT
Example The velocity of light in diamond. glass and water decreases
in the following order
A. water > glass > diamond

B. diamond > glass > water

C. diamond > water > glass

D. water > diamond > glass

Ans : B
Example (a)The refractive index of glass Is 1.5. What is the speed of
light in glass? (Speed of light in vacuum is 3.0 x 108 ms-1)
(b) Is the speed of light in glass independent of the colour of
light? If not, which of the two colours - red and violet travels
slower in a glass prism?

Source NCERT
Example The similarity between the sound waves and light waves is
A. both are electromagnetic waves

B. both are longitudinal waves

C. both have same speed in a medium

D. they can produce interference

Ans : D
Example The speed of light depends

A. on elasticity of the medium only

B. on inertia of the medium only

C. on elasticity as well as inertia
D. neither on elasticity nor on inertia

Ans : C
Example Choose the correct option:

(i) A surface on which the wave disturbance in same phase at all points
is called a wavefront.

(ⅱ) The direction of a wave at a point is perpendicular to the waverfront

through that point.

(ⅲ) The wavefronts of a wave originating from a point source is

spherical.
(ⅳ) The wavefronts for a wave going along a fixed direction are planes
perpendicular to that direction.

A. (i), (ⅱ) B. (ⅱ), (ⅲ), (ⅳ) C. (i), (ⅱ), (ⅲ) D. all

Ans : D
Example Wavefront of a wave has direction with wave motion
A. Parallel
B. Perpendicular
C. Opposite
D. At an angle of θ

Ans : B
JEELIVE

27,000
43,200
#JeeLiveDaily
 Telegram
APP

tinyurl.com/jeelivechat