INTERFERENCE

1. Define a wave front. What are the shapes of wave fronts in a homogeneous medium due to a (i) Point source? (ii) A line source?

2. What do you mean by a plane wave front? How can this be realized in practice? 3. With whom is the energy of the wave associated during propagation? 4. Discuss the two methods by which the energy from a wave front can be removed partly? 5. Discuss the theory of interference, considering the superposition of two simple harmonic waves of same frequency and wavelength, in the same state of polarization? 6. Define optical path. How is it connected with the geometrical path? 7. If a1 & a 2 are the amplitudes of two interfering waves, what is the ratio of amplitudes and intensities at maxima and minima? 8. Does the interference phenomenon violate energy conservation principle? Explain. 9. Show mathematically that the average intensity at a point in the region of interference is equal to sum of the intensity at that point due to individual waves. 10. Draw the graph showing the intensity distribution with phase difference for two waves of equal amplitudes. 11. Discuss the theory of interference fringes in Youngs double slit experiment and hence obtain the expression for fringe width. 12. 13. Discuss Huygenss wave theory of light. Discuss the conditions for a highly resolved, good contrast, sustained interference pattern.

14. What do you mean by coherent sources? Discuss why two independent sources of light of the same wavelength cant be coherent? 15. 16. 17. What happens when two incoherent sources of light superpose? What do you mean by visibility of fringes? What happens when:

a. The source in youngs double slit experiment is brought closer to the two slits? b. If the distance between the two slits is decreased? c. If one of the slits is covered up?

d. If a red color source is replaced by blue color? e. If 2d is made very large in comparison to wavelength? f. Keeping 2d, D & wavelength unchanged, if the source slit is widened? g. If white light is used instead of monochromatic sources? h. What will happen to fringe width if the youngs setup is immersed in water? 18. In youngs double slit experiment if one slit is covered with blue transparent paper and the other with red, then can you expect interference of light? 19. If the slit separation 2d is less than wavelength of light , then can you expect interference pattern? 20. 21. Why do wide slits cannot produce interference? What are the limitations of youngs double slit experiment?

22. With necessary theory, discuss the shape of fringes in youngs double slit experiment. Why in the practical bi-prism experiment, the fringes appear straight? 23. Calculate the displacement of fringes when a thin transparent lamina is introduced in the path of the interfering beams. Show that this method can be used to obtain thickness of a mica sheet. 24. Discuss the two classes of interference phenomena with suitable examples.

25. Show that when light reflects from a denser medium, a phase jump occurs whereas no such phase jump is resulted while reflecting from a rarer medium. 26. With necessary theory, discuss the phenomenon of interference in thin parallel films when observed by reflected light. 27. With necessary theory, discuss the phenomenon of interference in thin parallel films when observed by transmitted light. 28. Show that with monochromatic light, the interference patterns of reflected & transmitted light are complementary. 29. With suitable diagrams, explain why broad source of light is needed to observe the interference phenomenon in thin films. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. When seen by reflected light, why an excessively thin film appears to be perfectly black? How an excessively thin film appears by transmitted light if it is illuminated by white light? Why do colours appear in a thin film when illuminated by white light? Why a thick film seen by reflected light shows no colours but appears white? With a neat diagram discuss the theory of formation of Newtons rings in reflected light.

35.

Prove that in reflected light :

a. The diameters of dark rings are proportional to the square roots of odd numbers. b. The diameters of bright rings are proportional to the square roots of odd numbers.

36. 37.

Account for the perfect blackness of central spot in Newtons rings. What will happen if :

a. White light is used in formation of Newtons rings? b. The lens is slowly lifted off the flat glass plate?

38.

Describe with necessary theory how Newtons ring method can be used to :

a. Measure the wavelength of a monochromatic source. b. Refractive index of a liquid. c. Radius of curvature of the convex side of Plano-convex lens.

39. What will happen if the plane glass plate is replaced by a mirror or a silvered perfectly reflecting plate? 40. With necessary theory discuss the phenomenon of interference of light in wedge shaped film by reflected light. Calculate the expression for fringe width. 41. What are the factors on which the fringe width in wedge shaped film depends?

42. If the wedge shaped film is successively illuminated by light of different colours, for which colour the fringe width is maximum? 43. How the deviations from perfect plainness of two surfaces in wedge shaped film can be easily determined? 44. Discuss the theory of formation of Newtons rings by transmitted light. Why are the dark rings here not perfectly dark? 45. Why is good contrast not obtained in Newtons ring interference pattern by transmitted light?

46. With a necessary theory, discuss the phenomenon of interference of light in wedge shaped film by refracted light. 47. What will be the shape of fringes in Newtons rings experiment by reflected light, if the light is incident at an angle instead of normally? 48. What happens to fringe width of Newtons rings if red colour source is replaced by blue colour?

49. Many times, in practical experiments of Newtons ring by reflected light, we see white centre instead of dark centre. Why? 50. What do you mean by fringes of equal inclination & fringes of equal thickness?

NUMERICALS:
1- In a youngs double slit experiment, the separation between the slits is 1mm.The fringe width is

0.4mm when observed on a screen placed at a distance of 80 cm from the slits.

(a) Determine the wavelength of the source. (b) The distance of the 2nd bright fringe from the central one. (c) The distance of the second dark fringe from the central maximum. 2- In Youngs double slit arrangement, the fringe width is 0.01mm when slit-screen distance is 40cm.

What will be the fringe width when slit-screen distance is 40cm?

3- In a given Youngs double slit arrangement, monochromatic sources with wavelengths 4200 and

6300 were used one after another. Find the ratio between the fringe widths in the two cases.
4- Two coherent beams of wavelengths 6000 travel along different optical paths with path difference

1.2 10-4 cm and superpose. Do they produce destructive or constructive interference?

5- In Youngs double slit experiment using monochromatic light of wavelength , the intensity of light

at a point on the screen where path difference is , is K units. What is the intensity of light at a point where path difference is /3?
6- In a double-slit experiment the angular width of a fringe is found to be 0.20 on a screen placed at 1m

away. The wave length of light used is 600nm. What will be the angular width of the fringe if the entire experiment is immersed in water? Take refractive index of water to be 4/3.
7- Newtons rings are formed using a lens of radius of curvature 100 cm. Calculate the diameter of the

20th bright ring with =5900.

8- Newton rings are formed by light of wavelength 5431. Find the radius of curvature of the lens if

diameter of the 16th bright ring is 12.2mm.

9- Find the radius of the 20th ring in problem no 6. 10-In the question 2 the source of light is replaced by one with =4800. What is the diameter of the

20th bright ring?

11-In a Newtons ring experiment with air film, the difference of squares of diameters of nth and (n+10)

th rings is 0.22cm2. On introducing a liquid between the lens and the plate, this value changes to 0.16cm2. Calculate the refractive index of the liquid.
12-In a Newtons ring experiment, it is observed that with light of =5890, the difference of squares

of diameters of successive dark rings is 0.12 cm2. What happens to the quantity if,
(a) is changed to 4840.

(b) A liquid of =1.42 is introduced between the lens and glass. (c) The radius of curvature of the Plano-convex lens is doubled. 13-In Newtons ring experiment, the diameters of nth and (n+5) th dark rings are 0.114 cm and 0.142

cm respectively. Find the diameters of (n-5) th and (n+10) th rings.

14-Newtons rings are formed by sodium light with a normal arrangement. What will be the order of the

dark ring which will have double the diameter of the 20th dark ring?
15-A source of light emitting two wavelengths 1=6000 and 2=4500 is used in a normal set up for

Newtons rings. It is found that the nth dark ring due to 1 coincides with (n+1) th dark ring for 2. If the radius of curvature of the convex surface is 100cm, find the diameter of the nth dark ring for 2.
16- Two coherent sources of wavelength 5000 interfere at a point to produce an intensity of 0.90 units.

If the individual waves would produce intensities of 4.00 units and 1.44 units at the point, find the path difference between them. .++++++++++++++.

MCQ:
1- The wave nature of light is evidenced by (a) Black body radiation (c) Radioactive emission (b) Photoelectric effect (d) Interference phenomena

2- A pair of sources may be coherent if they emit light waves of (a) Same amplitude Same wavelength (b) Constant phase difference (d) same frequency

2- When interference of light takes place at some region the light energy is (a) Created (b) destroyed (c) redistributed

4- Two waves having the intensities in the ratio 9:1 produce interference. The ratio of the maximum to minimum intensity is equal to (a) 10:8 (b) 9:1 (c) 4:1 (d) 2:1

5- In the phenomena of interference, the law of conservation of energy is (a) Never violated (b) always violated (c) sometimes violated (d) violated depending on frequency

6- Two light waves interfere constructively at a point if their path difference is (a) Odd multiple of /2 (b) even multiple of /2 (c) fraction of /2 (d)none of these