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Superposition of waves
e-Learning
Objectives
Combining waves
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Displacement
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0
Distance
A
B
C
Figure 17.2 Adding two waves by the principle of superposition the red line is
the resultant wave.
179
Displacement
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0
Distance
180
Diffraction of waves
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a
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Figure 17.5 The extent to which ripples spread out depends on the relationship between their wavelength and
the width of the gap. In a, the width of the gap is very much greater than the wavelength and there is hardly any
noticeable diffraction. In b, the width of the gap is greater than the wavelength and there is limited diffraction. In
c, the gap width is equal to the wavelength and the diffraction effect is greatest.
Figure 17.5 shows the effect on the ripples when
they encounter a gap in a barrier. The amount of
diffraction depends on the width of the gap. There
is hardly any noticeable diffraction when the gap is
very much larger than the wavelength. As the gap
becomes narrower, the diffraction effect becomes
more pronounced. It is greatest when the width of the
gap is equal to the wavelength of the ripples.
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Explaining diffraction
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ripples from A
ripples from B
A
B
C
ripples from C
Interference
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signal generator
Explaining interference
Displacement/104 m
4
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3
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2
1
0
1
Displacement/104 m
Displacement/104 m
Time
2
3
4
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2
1
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resultant
Observing interference
Time
resultant
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1
0
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1
2
3
SAQ
3 Explain why the two loudspeakers must be
producing sounds of precisely the same frequency
in order for us to hear the effects
Answer
of interference described above.
resultant
0
1
2
3
Time
In a ripple tank
183
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184
or
or
Interference of light
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screen
slide with
double slit
Safety note
If you carry out experiments using a laser, you
should follow correct safety procedures. In
particular, you should wear eye protection and
avoid allowing the beam to enter your eye directly.
These bright and dark fringes are the equivalent of
the loud and quiet regions that you detected if you
investigated the interference pattern of sounds from
the two loudspeakers described above. Bright fringes
correspond to loud sound, dark fringes to soft sound
or silence.
You can check that light is indeed reaching the
screen from both slits as follows. Mark a point on the
screen where there is a dark fringe. Now carefully
cover up one of the slits so that light from the laser
is only passing through one slit. You should find that
the pattern of interference fringes disappears. Instead,
a broad band of light appears across the screen. This
broad band of light is the diffraction pattern produced
by a single slit. The point that was dark is now light.
Cover up the other slit instead, and you will see
the same effect. You have now shown that light is
arriving at the screen from both slits, but at some
points (the dark fringes) the two beams of light cancel
each other out.
You can achieve similar results with a bright light
bulb rather than a laser, but a laser is much more
convenient because the light is concentrated into a
narrow, more intense beam. This famous experiment is
called the Young double-slit experiment (see page 187),
but Thomas Young had no laser available to him when
he first carried it out in 1801.
Interference of microwaves
185
microwave
probe
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meter
microwave
transmitter
metal
sheets
Coherence
186
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Displacement
out of phase
Time
sudden change
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of phase
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double slit
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laser
double slit
interference
in this region
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Determining wavelength
A bright
B dark
C bright
D
double slit
E
screen
Hint
Answer
188
C
Point
This point is the midpoint of the next bright
ax
D
Experimental details
Worked
example 1
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In a double-slit experiment using light from
a heliumneon laser, a student obtained the
following results:
width of 10 fringes
separation of slits
slit-to-screen distance
10x = 1.5 cm
a = 1.0 mm
D = 2.40 m
1.5 102
= 1.5 103 m
10
ax
D
Therefore:
=
1.01031.5103
= 6.3107m
2.40
SAQ
7 If the student in Worked example 1
moved the screen to a distance of
4.8 m from the slits, what
would the fringe separation become?
Hint
Answer
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Guidance
filter
shield around
bright light source
single
slit
double
slit
screen
189
Diffraction gratings
190
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n = 2
n = 1
n=0
diffraction
grating
n = +1
n = +2
Explaining the
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experiment 0521787185c17_23.eps
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grating
SAQ
11 Explain how the second-order maximum arises.
Use the term path difference in
Answer
your explanation.
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Worked
example 2
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Monochromatic light is incident normally on
grating
1
1 cm
= 3.33 104 cm = 3.33 106 m
3000
continued
191
192
SAQ
14 A student is trying to make an accurate
measurement of the wavelength of green light
from a mercury lamp ( = 546 nm). Using a
double slit of separation 0.50 mm, he finds he can
see 10 clear fringes on a screen at a distance of
0.80 m from the slits. The student can measure
their overall width to within 1mm.
He then tries an alternative experiment using
a diffraction grating that has 3000 lines per
centimetre. The angle between the two secondorder maxima can be measured to within 0.1.
a What will be the width of the 10 fringes that
he can measure in the first experiment?
b What will be the angle of the second-order
maximum in the second experiment?
c Suggest which experiment you think will
give the more accurate
Answer
measurement of .
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white light
n=0
diffraction
grating
screen
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Figure 17.25 A diffraction grating is a simple way
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separating white light into its constituent
wavelengths.
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n
d
SAQ
15 White light is incident normally on a diffraction
grating with a slit separation d of 2.00 106 m.
a Calculate the angle between the red and violet
ends of the first-order spectrum. The visible
spectrum has wavelengths between 400 nm
and 700 nm.
b Explain why the second- and
Answer
third-order spectra overlap.
Summary
Glossary
principle of superposition states that when two or more waves meet at a point, the resultant
The
displacement is the algebraic sum of the displacements of the individual waves.
waves pass through a slit, they may be diffracted so that they spread out into the space beyond. The
When
diffraction effect is greatest when the wavelength of the waves is similar to the width of the gap.
For destructive interference the path difference is an odd number of half wavelengths:
1
light passes through a double slit, it is diffracted and an interference pattern of equally spaced light
When
and dark fringes is observed. This can be used to determine the wavelength of light using the equation:
ax
D
ax
can be used for all waves, including sound and microwaves.
The equation =
D
A diffraction grating diffracts light at its many slits or lines. The diffracted light interferes in the space
beyond the grating. The equation for a diffraction grating is:
d sin = n
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Questions
1 a When waves from two coherent sources meet, they interfere. The principle of
superposition of waves helps to explain this interference. State what is meant by:
i coherent sources
ii principle of superposition of waves.
b The diagram shows an arrangement to demonstrate interference effects with
microwaves. A transmitter, producing microwaves of wavelength 3.0 cm, is
placed behind two slits 6.0 cm apart. A receiver is placed 50 cm in front of
the slits and is used to detect the intensity of the resultant wave as it moves
along the line AB.
[2]
[1]
S1
microwave
transmitter
S2
6.0 cm
receiver
50 cm
i Explain, in terms of the path difference between the waves emerging from the
slits S1 and S2, why a series of interference maxima and minima are produced
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along the line AB.
[3]
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ii Assuming that the interference of the microwaves is similar to double
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interference using light, calculate the distance in centimetres between
neighbouring maxima along the line AB.
[3]
iii The microwaves from the transmitter are plane polarised. State what this
means and suggest what would happen if the receiver were slowly rotated
through 90 while still facing the slits.
[2]
OCR Physics AS (2823) January 2006
[Total 11]
2 a State the term used to describe two wave sources that have a constant
phase difference.
[1]
b Using suitable diagrams, state and explain what is meant by:
i constructive interference
ii destructive interference.
[4]
c Describe an experiment to determine the wavelength of monochromatic light
(i.e. light of one wavelength) using a double slit of known slit separation.
Include in your answer:
a labelled diagram showing how the apparatus is arranged
a list of the measurements required to determine the wavelength of the light
the formula, with all symbols identified, that could be used to determine .
[6]
OCR Physics AS (2823) January 2005
[Total 11]
194
Hint
Hint
Answer
Hint
Hint
Answer
continued
a
b
c
d
Light spreads out as it passes through each slit. State the term used to describe this. [1]
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The slits S1 and S2 can be regarded as coherent light sources. StateCUP
what is meant
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by coherent.
[1]
AW 17_27
Light emerging from S1 and S116.5w
2 produces
29d an interference pattern consisting of bright
and dark lines on the screen. Explain in terms of the path difference why bright and
dark lines are formed on the screen.
[4]
7
The wavelength of the laser light is 6.5 10 m and the separation between S1
and S2 is 0.25 mm. Calculate the distance in metres between neighbouring dark
lines on the screen when the screen is placed 1.5 m from the double slit.
[3]
OCR Physics AS (2823) June 2005
[Total 9]
Hint
Hint
Answer
Hint
Answer
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