EMcurriculum PDF

Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Editor:
Daniel Finkenthal
Written by:
Daniel Finkenthal
Beverly Greco
Rick Halsey
Lori Pena
Steve Rodecker
Billy Simms
Rick L. Lee
John Lohr
Mike J. Schaffer
David P. Schissel
QTYUIOP
The Electromagnetic Spectrum
Contents
iii
Table of Contents
Introduction Instructor/Student
1 The Visible Electromagnetic Spectrum........................................................ 1 ....... 7
2 Invisible Regions of the Electromagnetic Spectrum .................................... 9 .......13
Visible Light
3a Why Are There Colors in a Compact Disk? .................................................15 .......17
3b The Compact Disk as Diffraction Grating....................................................15 .......19
4 Measuring Wavelengths of Light .................................................................21 .......23
5 Youngs Experiment .....................................................................................25 .......27
Sunlight
6 Blue Skies and Red Sunsets .........................................................................29 .......31
7 Photosynthesis...............................................................................................33 .......37
Infra-Red Radiation
8 Infrared Radiation and the Inverse-Square Rule...........................................39 .......41
9 Detecting Infrared Radiation Using a Prism ................................................39 .......43
10a Investigation of IR Light Using an IR Transmitter and Receiver ................45 .......47
10b Investigation of IR Light Using a Close Circuit TV Camera ......................45 .......49
Ultra-Violet Radiation
11 Fluorescence .................................................................................................51 .......53
12 UV Light Detection ......................................................................................55 .......57
13 Investigating the Absorption of UV Light by Oxygen .................................55 .......59
16 The Effect of UV Light on Yeast .................................................................61 .......63
15 The Effect of UV Light on DNA..................................................................65 .......67
16 Which Wavelength Causes Photogray Lenses to Change Color?.................69 .......71
17 Which Wavelength Causes Sunrez to Solidify? ........................................73........75
Radio and Micro-Waves
18 Measuring the Length of Radio Waves ........................................................77 .......79
19 Tuning Into Radio Waves .............................................................................77 .......81
20 The Shielding of Radio Waves by Metal ......................................................77 .......83
21 Using the Earths Ionosphere to Reflect Radio Waves.................................77 .......85
22 A Diffraction Grating for Radio Waves .......................................................77 .......87
23 A Diffraction Grating for Microwaves .........................................................77 .......89
Contents
Overview
continued
Curriculum Overview:
Introduction to the
Electromagnetic Spectrum
In the matter of physics, the first lessons should contain nothing but what is
experimental and interesting to see. A pretty experiment is in itself often more
valuable than 20 formulae extracted from our minds; it is particularly important that
a young mind that has yet to find its way about in the world of phenomena should be
spared from formulae altogether.
Albert Einstein
Overview
This section focuses on activities that help students understand the electromagnetic spectrum, one
of the six stations on the DIII-D Tokamak Fusion Facility tour at General Atomics in San Diego,
California.. The goal is to help teachers teach the often difficult concepts related to the electro-
magnetic spectrum as well as prepare students for the tour. This section contains a number of more or
less informal laboratory units including demonstrations, experiments, and activities that are unlikely
to be found in traditional science textbooks or lab manuals. Each unit contains an Instructors Guide
and a master copy of a Student Activity Sheet to be reproduced and distributed to each student
participating in the unit.
Mission Statement
The curriculum contained here was developed by local teachers and scientists working together to
improve the state of science education in todays schools. The aim is to increase the understanding
and enthusiasm for science in high-schools through the use of more enlightening, empowering, and
socially relevant curriculum. We hope to help students understand and master the technological world
around them in order to increase their own sense of power and control over their lives. By increasing
understanding we seek to reduce the mystification, powerlessness and alienation of people from
science, and eliminate the sense of elitism associated with science. These are lofty goals, and we hope
to rise to the challenge.
Contents
The curriculum units have been grouped into six different sections depending on their respective
emphasis. These sections are named as follows:
Introduction Infrared Radiation
Visible Light Ultraviolet Light
Sunlight Radio and Microwaves
A complete listing of the units in each section is given in the Table of Contents that follows.
Format
From collective meetings and discussions with teachers at various levels, an optimized format for
presenting each curriculum unit was devised. Each unit includes a master copy of a single double-
sided Student Activity Sheet, organized according to the table below. It was decided early on to
restrain each Activity Sheet to a single double sided page since many teachers feel that anymore
overwhelms the student or tends to get lost in the hustle, bustle, and shuffle of a typical school day.
Each Student Activity Sheet is accompanied with an Instructors Guide. The Instructors Guide
contains stated goals and objectives along with background information, helpful hints and available
resources, and ideas for further investigation. In most cases a complete description of each unit is
contained in the Student Activity Sheet, while the Instructors Guide is intended to serve as an aid for
the instructor organizing the activity at hand. In the case of laboratory demonstrations, however, the
bulk of the material is contained in the Instructors Guide.
A master copy for reproduction of each Student Activity Sheet directly follows each Instructors
Guide unit. A second set of Student Activity Sheets are also grouped together in a separately
organized Student Activity Handbook. Teachers may wish to have the handbook duplicated as a
whole.
Overview
Curriculum Overview: Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum
Table 1 Organizational format of each curriculum unit
Instructors Guide: Student Activity Sheet:
Goals Purpose
Objectives Required Equipment
Background Information Discussion
Helpful Hints Review Questions
Extensions Procedure
References Analysis Questions
Resource Box
A Resource Box containing the more unusual, expensive, or hard-to-obtain items involved in each
of the Activity Units has been developed and assembled by the DIIID Tokamak Fusion group to be
distributed with this Curriculum. The more common classroom items such as an overhead projector,
paper, tape, etc. are assumed to be available and will not be included in the Resource Box. Since the
availability of many materials varies with each school, please evaluate the Required Equipment and
Supplies list in each activity and note what is and is not available at your school.
Four Resource Boxes have been assembled and placed at different San Diego county schools to
facilitate distribution to local teachers. Each of these participating schools is charges with loaning and
maintaining an individual Resource Box. A Resource Box may be obtained by contacting one of the
following teachers:
Rick Halsey Scripps Ranch High School (621-9020)
Lori Pena Roosevelt Junior High School (293-8675)
Steve Rodecker Chula Vista High School (691-5439)
Billy Simms La Jolla Country Day School (453-3440 x169)
This curriculum is an evolving work and needs your input. Evaluations and comments can be
submitted to the Fusion Education Curriculum Web page or to Dr. Daniel Finkenthal at (619) 455-
4135, E-mail to finkenthl@gak.gat.com. Periodic updates will also be made available at the Web site:
http://FusionEd.gat.com/
General Atomics 1996
IntroductionVisible Light
1
Instructors Guide to Lab No. 1:
The Visible Electromagnetic Spectrum
Goal
The goal is to introduce the visible electromagnetic spectrum to students through use of
materials readily available to most high school science classes.
Objectives
After observing these demonstrations, students should be able to:
Use a diffraction grating to separate a visible light source into its component parts.
Explain what a continuous emission spectrum is and give several examples.
Explain what a bright line emission spectrum is and give several examples.
Explain what an absorption spectrum is and give several examples.
Relate the color of viewed objects to both the wavelengths of light incident upon it and
the wavelength of light it absorbs/reflects.
Background Information
The phrase electromagnetic spectrum is frequently referred to in the study of science.
In biology it is often a part of the discussion of photosynthesis, the physiology of the eye, and
mutagenic sources. In earth and space science electromagnetic radiation is often a part of a
discussion of radioactive minerals, cosmic rays being deflected by the earth's magnetic field,
and analyzing incoming radiation from stars by optical and radio telescopes or other means.
In chemistry the spectrum is often discussed when talking about evidence for different
electron energy levels and characteristic properties of elements. In physics it is a part of the
study of waves, electricity and magnetism, and modern physics. The table on the following
page divides the electromagnetic spectrum into eight bands by common names although the
differences between types are gradual rather than discrete.
Helpful Hints
1. Timeline
One to two class periods depending on which spectra
sources are chosen.
2. Overhead Projector Setup
A. A mask, made from two pieces of cardboard, for
example, can be used to block out all but a narrow
(2 to 4 cm) slit of light coming from the projector. Tape the large holographic
diffraction grating
(see description below) to a frame of cardboard and tape this

frame to the focusing lens of the overhead. The grating should be mounted at an angle
of about 20 from the head. Darkening the room will increase contrast; decreasing the
slit width dims the intensity but increases the dispersion (color separation). The
brighter the overhead, the brighter the spectrum will be. Overheads used to project
LCD panels, typically 4000 lumens or more, are especially good. Use of a movie
screen rather than a white board (marker/dry erase board) is preferable.
Demonstration
Overhead
Projector
diffraction
grating
(20)
mask
with slit
2 Instructors Guide to Lab No. 1
2
B. A holographic diffraction grating
is a transmission phase delay grating which

produces a very bright first order image (energy transmitted to the zero order is
minimized by maximizing interference at the center of visible spectrum at about
550 nm). The cost
4
is about $6 each. Forty of these are included in each RB, one per
student. Most inexpensive student hand-held spectroscopes are less dispersive and
produce a less intense first order image.
C. A grating produces a number of repeating spectra on either side of the central image
(also called the zero order, which is an image of the source), and they are called first
order, second order, etc. The zero order and one or more orders can be shown at the
same time, or by adjusting the angle that the overhead projector has with respect to
the screen, and by adjusting the projector to screen distance, one can show just one
bright first order spectrum. If a meter stick is taped to the screen and the correct
projector to screen distance is chosen, the 40 to 70 cm range on the meter stick can
represent the 400 to 700 nm visible spectrum for rough estimates of wavelength. Or, a
long sheet of paper may be taped to the screen, and the appropriate intervals marked
off. The brightness of the projected spectrum can be maximized by rotating (in a
vertical plane) one edge of the grating away from the lens to about 20.
NAME
RANGE
(m)
f RANGE
(Hz)
ORIGIN/
CAUSE
INTERESTING
FACTS
USES / RELATED
CAREERS
Electric
Power
>10
5
<10
2
vibrating atoms
or molecules
over
macroscopic
distances
60 Hz hum heard
near electric trans-
formers
transmits electric energy to
homes from power
stations; electrician;
electrical engineer
Radio/TV 10
-1
-10
4
10
9
- 10
4
vibrating atoms
or molecules
over
macroscopic
distances
low frequencies
are reflected by
earth's atmosphere
Radio and TV; electrical
engineer; communications
industry, medicine,
magnetic resonance
imaging
microwave
10
-3
- 10
-1
10
11
- 10
9
vibrating atoms
or molecules
these waves are
blocked by "dots"
on oven doors
cooking; long distance TV
and phone; radar; terrain
mapping
infrared
(IR)
10
-7
- 10
-3
10
14
-10
9
vibrating atoms
or electron
transitions
passes through
haze in the
atmosphere
heating & drying; "night
vision" cameras; TV &
garage door remotes;
satellite remote sensing
visible 4-7 x 10
-7
7.5x10
14-
4.3x10
14
vibrating atoms
or electron
transitions
about 1/40 of total
EMR spectrum
what the eye and typical
film can see; optometrist
ultraviolet
(UV)
10
-8
- 7x10
-7
10
16
-10
14
vibrating atoms
or electron
transitions
"burning" rays of
sun;
germicidal, photo-
chemical, photo-electric
effects; hardening casts in
medicine
X-ray 10
-11
- 10
-8
10
19
- 10
16
electron
transitions and
braking
is size of atom
medicine; crystallography;
astrophysicist; remote
sensing
gamma <10
-11
>10
19
nuclear
transition
can cause tissue
damage and
ionization
research into structure of
nucleus; geophysics;
mineral exploration
The Visible Electromagnetic Spectrum 3
3
3. Spectra Sources
A. Emission Spectrum - Continuous
Use the overhead projector as described above.
Complete spectrum - You should be able to obtain a single bright spectrum if
you have aimed the projector off-center and rotated the grating at about 20
o.
The
width of the opening on the overhead projector platen has some effect on
intensity.
B. Emission Spectrum - Bright Line
Remove the large grating from the
overhead. An entire class can view the
spectrum from the following two
sources if light from the source is
passed through the large grating.
Flame Test
Spectra are produced by heating salt solutions in a clean burning

Bunsen flame. A wire loop is cleaned by inserting it into hydrochloric acid and
then heated to incandescence in the flame until no color shows in the flame. Then
it is placed into the test salt and held in the burner flame. The salts typically burn
quickly so students must be alert to pick out the lines. You can expect the
following lines to be observed: Calcium chloride (orange-yellow), potassium
chloride (violet), sodium chloride (yellow), and strontium chloride (red).
Gas Discharge Tube A hot gas under low pressure will emit certain bright lines
that can be distinguished with the grating. The gas tubes are placed across high
voltage which ionizes the gas. Commonly available gases include hydrogen,
helium and neon. Neon is particularly good because of its brightness. This is a
very good way to illustrate the differences in electron energies. However neither
the spectrum tubes ($20 and up) nor the power supplies ($125 and up) are
common outside the physics classroom. You can expect hydrogen to produce at
least one violet, one blue-green, and one red band that can be seen. Neon has over
a dozen bands, mostly in the yellow to red end of the spectrum. Helium has bands
in the violet, blue, blue green, yellow, and red.
Mercury Discharge Lamp
A hot mercury gas under low pressure emits

distinct bright lines of several wavelenghts that can be distinguished with the
grating. You can expect to see violet, blue, blue- green, green, yellow, and orange.
The following sources are generally too
weak to be projected for an entire class, but
are visible if each student has their own
small grating
5
and views the source in a
darkened room. Each emits one or more
bands of light. One possible method of
demonstrating these spectra is to have
stations set up around the room and to have
students visit each station and record their
observations.
Cyalume Sticks (available in several colors in diving shops and some toy stores
for $1-$2 each) Expected Outcomes: The green emits strongly in the green but
also has some yellow and blue; the red produces most strongly in the red, orange,
and yellow, with some green.
Neon bulbs ($10-$20, available in specialty lighting stores) and GrowLux
fluorescent lamps ($2-$4, available in gardening supply stores) Neon has over a
source
light
students
large
grating
source & slit
light
students small
grating
4
dozen bands, mostly in the yellow to red end of the spectrum. GrowLux
has
many bands, especially red, and blue/violet.
LEDs of various colors (available from electronics supply shops such as Radio
Shack for $1-$2; they are current limited so must be wired in series with a resistor
when attached to a battery or power supply) - red, yellow, and green emitters are
available. Expected Outcome: some narrow band red, yellow, and green emitters
are available that emit only those colors but common LEDs usually emit strongly
in one region and weakly in others.
Blacklight fluorescent lamps - violet, green, and yellow lines can be expected.
Fluorescent Crayons
- Illuminate with the UV sources. Each color will produce

a variety of lines.
C. Absorption Spectra
Set up the overhead projector with the grating mask as in the first demonstration.
Maximize separation. Use mirrors to mix colors; show the effect of absorption by
blocking one or more colors.
1. Hold a chlorophyll solution in portions of the projected spectrum and note that
bands of the spectrum are absorbed. This solution can be made by placing a
handful or two of fresh green plant matter, such as grass clippings, in a blender.
Add alcohol, blend, and filter. You will have to play around with the concen
tration to obtain the desired effect. Several wavelengths in both the red and blue
end of the spectrum are absorbed so the resulting spectrum will appear dimmed in
these regions compared to white light.
2. Hold glassblower glasses (neodymium and praseodymium, sometimes called
didymium) in portions of the projected spectrum and note that a band in the
yellow is strongly absorbed; bands in the violet, blue, green, orange, and red are
absorbed to a lesser extent. Neodymium salts will also produce this effect.
3. Cobalt glass
, used for welders glasses and in various physics experiments

strongly absorbs yellow and orange, plus some red and green).
4. Hold a beaker of Vanish
Toilet Bowl Cleaner in portions of the projected

spectrum and note that it strongly absorbs in the mid red range. The crystal
product is not the same as the liquid, so be sure to buy liquid Vanish. If the
solution is held in a white light source, the projected light appears blue and only
slightly dimmed because the red absorption band is narrow. However, if a
helium-neon laser is pointed at the solution, the absorption is almost complete as
the emitted wavelength of a He-Ne laser is near the middle of the range of
frequencies absorbed by Vanish.
5. Hold colored plastic sheets, especially theatrical lighting gels
, in portions of the
projected spectrum and note absorption bands. Or place the gels directly on the
platen. Depending on the quality of the gel, absorption can be narrow or broad. A
good quality red filter will pass only red and orange and possibly a faint bit of
yellow. Poor filters may strongly pass the red end but weakly transmit the rest.
6. Take a fluorescent (glow-in-the-dark) marking pen and remove the cap; soak the
tip in about 50 ml of alcohol overnight. This solution absorbs in the green and red.
Dilute solutions of water-soluble fluorescent paints also work. In either case, be
sure to read the label carefully before buying as some pens and paints are called
fluorescent when in fact they are bright colors. True fluorescent materials must be
subjected to either long or short wave UV (from the sun or UV lamps) before they
work. Note: The Invisible Ink included in the activity kit can be used here.
5
D. Combined Spectra
An especially effective display can be made
by comparing the spectra formed by several
of the above demonstrations at the same
time. For example, place a red gel, a green
gel, the cobalt glass, and the fluorescent dye
one below the other on the platen of the
overhead with a narrow strip of cardboard
between each (to set off the spectra when
projected). If space for white light is made
available at the top and bottom of this
sequence, a comparison can be made to a
full spectrum.
4. Color Theory
Note: The following two activities require a bright projector and a dark room to be
effective.
A. Reflection Characteristics
Have students view different colored objects, such as sheets of colored paper, in
white light; then have them observe the same objects in portions of the spectrum
produced by the overhead projector and grating. Note the color that the object appears
to be depends on both the color of the incident light as well as the color of object
itself. Have students predict the color of test objects.
B. Color Mixing
Mirrors
placed in the path of the projected spectrum and aimed so that light of
different colors falls on the same spot allow students to experiment with the effects of
color mixing. Students are sometimes surprised that certain colors such as yellow can
be produced without any yellow at all by mixing green and red!
5. Polarization of Light
A. Use the OHP to show the polarization of light.|
Place a single sheet of polarizing film (Polaroid
) on the projector and have students

note the decreased transmission. Place a second sheet on top of the first and rotate to
show transmission and absorbtion. Next place a third sheet diagonally in between two
crossed polarizers. Several polarizing filters are included in the resource box.
B. Colors from Cellophane
Place some crumpled cellophane
over one of the polaroids on the OHP (also try

strips of cellophane tape overlapped at different angles, and experiment with different
brands of transparent tape). Project the image onto a screen and rotate a second,
slightly large Polaroid in front of the OHP lens. Do this in rhythm with some hip
music and youll have a spectacular light show.
C. Colors from Karo Syrup
Place a bottle of Karo (corn syrup) between two sheets of polaroid, and place a white
light source behind the seemingly-clear syrup. Have students view through the
Polaroids and syrup and view the spectacular colors as you rotate one of the
polarizers. This can also be projected onto a screen using OHP with a flat container of
Karo, such as a petri dish.
D. Calcite crystal
A calcite crystal can be used as above to demonstrate another more complicated
polarization effect resulting from a combination of double refraction and bifringence.
red
open
blue
holmium
chloride
open
cardboard mask
platen (slit)
6
E. Liquid Crystal Displays
The common LCDs used all over the place in calculators, watches, clocks, etc., make
use of the polarization of light using a liquid crystal that changes polarization with an
applied voltage. Have students examine a typical display through a Polaroid. Have
them rotate the Polaroid to ensure they get the full effect.
F. Polarized Light Microscope
Students can view spectacular interference colors with this setup. Any microscope,
including an inexpensive toy microscope, can be converted into a polarized-light
microscope by fitting a piece of Polaroid inside the eyepiece and taping another onto
the stage of the microscope. Mix drops of naphthalene and benzene on a slide and
watch the growth of crystals. Rotate the eyepiece and change the colors. Or simply
observe the interference colors of pieces of cellophane or transparent tape.
6. Blue Skies and Red Sunsets
This activity is presented in Laboratory 6. It is worth doing as a quick demo using if
you do not have the time for the formal lab activity. Use a slide projector for best
results. It also makes a good home project, since it only needs a flashlight and a large
glass bowl.
7. Interference by Thin Films
You can do this one as a demo or assign it as a home project in the kitchen sink. Dip a
dark-colored coffee cup (dark colors make the best background for viewing inter-
ference colors) in dish washing detergent, and then hold it sideways and look at the
reflected light from the soap film that covers its mouth. Swirling colors appear as the
soap runs down to form a wedge that grows thicker at the bottom with time. The top
becomes thinner, so thin that it appears black. This tell us that its thickness is less
than one-fourth the thickness of the shortest waves of visible light. Whatever its
wavelength, light reflecting from the outer surface reverses phase, rejoins light
reflecting from the inner surface which doesnt reverses phase and cancels. The film
soon becomes so thin it pops.
References
This apple means that a particular item is included in the Resource Box.
1. Philip Sadler, "Projecting Spectra for Classroom Investigations," Physics Teacher 29,
423 (1991).
2. George A. Burman, "Overhead Spectroscopy," Physics Teacher 29, 470 (1991).
3. Kenneth Brecher, "Do Atoms Really 'Emit' Absorption Lines? ," Physics Teacher 29, 454
(1991).
4. Learning Technologies Inc., 59 Walden St., Cambridge, MA 02140 (617) 547-7724. One
4.5" x 5" sheet with four color filters costs $6 plus shipping and handling. Included in
Resource Box
.
5. Holographic diffraction gratings
enclosed in 35 mm glass slide mounts are available for

$3 each from Arbor Scientific, P.O. Box 2750, Ann Arbor, MI 48106-2750, (800) 367-
6695. These have been included in the Resource Box, enough for an entire classroom.
IntroductionVisible Light
7
Laboratory No.1:
The Visible Electromagnetic Spectrum
Purpose
The purpose is to investigate the visible electromagnetic spectrum using a diffraction grating
to observe different light sources.
Required Equipment and Supplies
Diffraction gratings or hand-held spectroscopes; overhead projector with mounted large
holographic diffraction grating; various light sources.
Discussion
Energy emitted from vibrating electric charges produces electromagnetic waves. Our eyes are
sensitive to just a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. The sun, normal incan-
descent bulbs, and most fluorescent bulbs produce nearly white light by mixing all the
frequencies (colors) together. White light can be separated into its component colors, called a
spectrum, by passing the light through a prism or a diffraction grating. If a light source
produces all the visible frequencies (such as the sun), the spectrum is called a continuous
emission spectrum. If the source produces only certain frequencies (such as a gas at low
pressure, a neon sign for example), the resulting spectrum is called a bright line emission
spectrum. If a transparent substance (such as stained glass) absorbs or removes certain
frequencies from white light, the spectrum produced is called an absorption spectrum.
Review Questions
1. What causes electromagnetic waves?
2. What event causes visible light to be produced?
3. What are the three types of spectra?
4. Do atoms emit absorption lines?
5. Does the color of a banana change if the color of light hitting it changes?
Procedure
The instructor will set up a number of different sources of light, producing a variety of
spectra. Observe each of these sources through a diffraction grating, and record the source
name and observations for each of the spectra types.
Describe your findings for the following demonstrations:
1. Continuous emission spectrum
This is produced using the white hot
incandenscent light bulb inside an overhead
projector, which is masked to allow only a
narrow slit of light which is then passed
through a a large diffraction grating after
being focused by the projector lens.
Demonstration
Name: Class: Date:
Overhead
Projector
diffraction
grating
mask
with slit
Overhead Projector Setup
8 The Visible Electromagnetic Spectrum Laboratory No. 1
8
2. Bright line emission spectrum
A number of different emissison spectra
will be produced, including:
a. flame tests
b. gas discharge tubes
c. Cyalume sticks
d. LEDs
e. blacklight
f. neon bulb
g. GrowLux
h. fluorescent Crayons
3. Absorption spectrum
Several different absorption spectra are to be demonstrated, including:
a. chlorophyll
b. didymium glass
c. colbalt glass
d. holmium chloride
e. Vanish
f. lighting gels
g. fluorescent dye
Analysis of Experiment
1. What physical event produces the different frequencies that make up a continuous
spectrum? What evidence do you have from this investigation that your answer is
correct?
2. If white light is passed through a cloud of sodium gas and then dispersed by a grating,
certain frequencies at about 590 nm are removed. What frequencies do you think would
be emitted by sodium if it were heated to high temperature? Why?
3. Is the color of an object always the same? What evidence do you have from this
investigation? What color would a red dress appear if viewed under blue light?
4. Do filters (gels) turn one color of light into another color of light? For example would
green light turn into blue if passed through a blue filter? What evidence do you have
from this investigation?
5. Can you produce yellow light without using any yellow? Explain.
6. Could spectral analysis (such as the flame test or placing the chlorophyll in the light path)
help you identify an unknown object? Explain. Could this be used in forensics?
source
light
students
large
grating
Observation of Light Source through Grating
(Lab Station)
IntroductionInvisible Regions
9
Demonstrating the Invisible Regions of the
Goal
The goal is to outline techniques for demonstrating the invisible regions of the electromagnetic
spectrum using materials commonly available to high school physics courses.
Objectives
After observing these demonstrations, students should be able to:
Explain that visible light is only a small portion of the electromagnetic spectrum;
Recognize that the spectrum produced by a blackbody radiator is related to the temperature of the
radiator;
Use an ultraviolet viewer or UV sensitive liquid crystal to detect the presence of UV rays in
common electromagnetic radiation sources;
Recognize that infrared waves transfer energy by waves which have properties similar to light
waves such as reflection, refraction, and diffraction;
Explain that radio and TV signals are waves which can be shielded;
Demonstrate that microwaves are larger than the interhole distance on a microwave oven door
and explain that microwave heating is due to two radiation effects;
See background information on visible electromagnetic radiation. The phrase electro-
magnetic spectrum is frequently referred to in the study of science. In biology it is often a
part of the discussion of photosynthesis, the physiology of the eye, and mutatgenic sources.
In earth and space science electromagnetic radiation is often a part of a discussion of
radioactive minerals, cosmic rays being deflected by the earth's magnetic field: analyzing
incoming radiation from stars by optical and radio telescopes or other means. In chemistry
the spectrum is often discussed when talking about evidence for different electron energy
levels and characteristic properties of elements. In physics it is a part of the study of waves,
electricity and magnetism, and modern physics. The table on the following page divides the
electromagnetic spectrum into eight bands by common names although the differences
between types are gradual rather than precipitous.
Helpful Hints
1. Blackbody Radiation:
The variation of the spectrum produced by a heated object, called blackbody
radiation, can be demonstrated with a variac (a variable ac power supply), a 100-200W
clear glass bulb ($3$4), and a porcelain socket ($2). As an alternative to the variac, an
in-circuit dimmer extension cord ($15$20), or a light switch dimmer ($5$6 if you can
do some wiring) can be used. The dimmer can be obtained from a hardware or specialty
lighting store. Produce a narrow band of light from your source to reduce stray reflections
by placing it inside a large can, such as a 48 oz juice can, with a narrow slit cut in
one side. Allow for ventilation. Be careful as the can will get hot! Pass the light through
a large diffraction grating
1
(as discussed in the activity Demonstrating the Visible
Electromagnetic Spectrum) and project the resulting spectrum upon a screen. Vary the
Demonstration
10
temperature of the filament by varying the voltage; note the change in the spectrum. Turn
up the voltage until the filament just starts to glow red, and then back it off to the point
where the filament no longer glows red. Have students view the spectrum as the voltage
is changed. They should note that as the voltage (and therefore temperature) increases, so
does the intensity of the blue end of the spectrum, indicating more energy being radiated.
Note: A triac-type ac dimmer is included in the Resource Box for this demonstration. It is wired
into a three-prong socket and cord. It is to be used with the High-Power Light Source (Frey
Scientific) also included in the RB, which consists of a socket, clamp, chord, and cardboard
shroud. Fashion a slit out of cardboard to place in front of the hole in the shroud, held together
with elastic bands. Even better is to mount the slit in the end of a cardboard tube, the other of
which is mounted to the shroud of the light source.
2. Ultra-Violet Radiation:
Both infrared and ultraviolet light can be detected by UV or IR sensitive digital
cameras, but they cost tens of thousands of dollars. UV, IR, and xrays can be detected
by films obtained from photography supply stores, but there is the cost and delay of
development. Ultraviolet can however, be detected with a simple filter
2
costing about
$30$40. A credit card-sized UV detector
3
is also available for about $5 which reacts in
seconds to UV and indicates a relative intensity level on a liquid crystal strip. Students
can use either of these to detect variations in UV production from the blackbody radiator
(Demonstration No. 1) and from many other sources such as the sun, TVs, computer
monitors, burner flames, and stoves. Show off the fluorescent mineral set, crayons, and
black light poster included in the resource box using the long-wave UV lamp also
included.
Note: Both the UV bandpass filter and several card-size detectors have been included in the
Resource Box. The filter is to be assembled with the enclosed PVC tubes to form the UV detector.
Details are in the Resource Box.
3. Infrared Radiation
The best method we have found for demonstrating IR is using an ordinary CCD or
viticon-based TV camera. The semiconductor detector chips in some of these are very
sensitive to IR. We have obtained a number of surplus security cameras, and included one
in each Resource Box. Point any type of IR-based remote control unit at the camera and it
appears as a bright source on the monitor. Also use the included IR Flashlight (an infra-
red LED wired into an ordinary flashlight in place of the normal bulb) with the included
prism and/or diffraction grating to show diffraction. Use developed color film as an IR
bandpass filter to filter out excess visible light. The lights can be turned out and the IR
flashlight can be used to illuminate students. Watch out, you can be observed in the
darkest of nights! A lot can be done with this set up. Be imaginative, and let us know
what you come up with!
The TV camera can be used with the optical bench (meterstick type) and diffraction
grating included in the resource box to demonstrate Laboratory No. 4 on the TV monitor.
First use the mercury lamp to demonstrate and measure the various visible lines, then
replace the mercury source with the infra-red LED light source that has been put together
for this purpose. The invisible lines can be clearly seen on the monitor. Again, the
developed color film can be used to screen out most of the unwanted visible wavelengths.
The wave properties of IR can be demonstrated using toy ray guns.
4
The Photon
ray
gun, made by Entertech, or the Bravestarr Evil Laser-Fire Backpack
by Mattel can be
11
used. A homemade version
5
can be made for about $5 using a TV remote control as the
signal, and an infrared photo transistor, resistor, LED, and battery as the detector. The
details of the detector are given in the appendix. The simplest demonstration involves
aiming the IR beam into a mirror and having it reflect onto the target sensor. In the case
of the Photon gun, the target has a light which changes from green to red when hit with
IR. Other demonstrations illustrating wave properties such as the focusing effect of
parabolic mirrors, refraction through plastic prisms, total internal reflection in thick
Lucite bars, and diffraction around sharp objects can be demonstrated. Note: The Light
Listener described below can be used for these demos.
A Light Listener that responds to IR can be built, and plans are included in The
Instructors Guide to Lab No. 6 (p. 46). It is the receiving end of a simple amplitude-
modulated light wave communications system. It can be used to listen to the signals
produced by light sources such as an IR remote control. Students can use it to hear what
their TV remote control is saying (a series of tones.) An incandescent lamp will produce a
hum, a flourescent lamp a buzz, and an electronic camera flash will produce a large pop.
A flashlight beam can be swept slowly across the light listeners detector to produce a
soft swishing sound, while a fast sweep will produce pops. Tap the flashlight with a
pencil and a ringing sound will be heard as the filament vibrates. Interesting!
Yet another approach is to use an infrared heat lamp, an IR filter,
6
and a radiometer.
The heat lamp will cause the radiometer to rotate; placing the IR filter between the lamp
and the radiometer significantly reduces the IR flow and causes the radiometer to slow or
stop. Some slide projectors have these glass IR filters between the lamp and the slide to
reduce heat transfer to the slide. IR bandpass filters
6
which allow only a narrow band of
IR to pass through the filter are also available. This filter can be placed in front of light
from an incandescent lamp or the sun, blocking the visible light and allowing only the IR.
This filter can be used, for example, by placing the radiometer in a box with a hole cut in
it the size of the filter. A heat lamp or other bright incandescent source can be placed in
front of the filter causing the radiometer to rotate. Viewed from overhead, the box
remains relatively dark, yet the radiometer vanes rotate. Again, depending on the setup,
developed color film may work here.
4. Radio and TV Waves
Many of these demonstrations are included as individual student activities in the Radio
Waves and Microwaves (Labs 1823). You may wish to demo some here and save some for the
students to do themselves.
The wave properties commonly associated with light can also be illustrated with radio
and TV signals. AM waves are reflected by the ionosphere and therefore can travel 1000s
of kilometers. Demonstrate this by tuning in a station from a distant city on an AM radio
(this can be a somewhat unreliable demonstration as the heights of the various ion layers
vary with weather, time of day, and particle production by the sun). The shielding of
radio waves can be demonstrated by placing a playing radio or TV inside a wire mesh
cage made from window screen or a metal box. Note that the signal dies away.
5. Radiation
Some wave properties can be even more easily illustrated with microwaves than with
light waves but microwave generators and detectors are expensive. However, the
ubiquitous microwave oven can be used to illustrate some wave properties. An often
asked question is, Why can we see through a microwave oven door but the microwaves
12
don't come out? The explanation is the same one that explains why a sieve allows the
sand in a sand and rock mix to pass through but not the rocks. The rocks are too big.
Microwaves have a wavelength of about 12 cm, much larger than the inter hole distance
in the screen of the door that is but a few mm. The oven can be used to investigate
various calorimetric variables
7
such as efficiency of the magnetron power tube, specific
heat of different liquids, oven parameters etc.
The heating effect of microwave ovens is due primarily to its ability to cause water
molecules to vibrate (dipole rotation). There is a secondary absorption method called
ionic conduction
8
. This effect can be demonstrated by comparing the times to boiling of
equal masses of pure water and salted water. The salted water will heat much faster in the
microwave even though its boiling point is higher due to the increased energy absorption
by the ions. Heated on the stove, the salted water takes more time than the pure water to
reach boiling!
References:
1. Learning Technologies Inc., 59 Walden St., Cambridge, MA 02140, (617) 547-7724. One
4.5" x 5" sheet with 4 color filters costs $6 plus shipping and handling.
2. Tom Donohue and Howard Wallace, "Ultraviolet Viewer," Physics Teacher 31, 41
(1993).
3. Science Kit, P.O. Box 5059, San Luis Obispo, CA 93403, (800) 828-9572.
4. R. S. Halada, "Demonstrations of Infrared Ray Optics Using Ray Guns," Physics Teacher
29, 370 (1991).
5. John W. Jewett, Jr., "Physics Begins With An M, p 311, Allyn and Bacon (1994).
6. The IR absorbing filter $22.50 and the IR bandpass filter $52.80 are available from
CENCO Scientific, 3300 CENCO Pkwy, Franklin Park, IL 60131, (800) 262-3626. The
radiometer is a common device available from most science supply houses (including the
Reuben H. Fleet Space Museum) for about $5$10.
7. Ron Fritz, "Calibration and Efficiency of Microwave Ovens,",Physics Teacherr 28, 564
(1990).
8. John W. Jewett, Jr., "Physics Begins With An M, p 323, Allyn and Bacon (1994).
IntroductionInvisible Regions
13
Laboratory No. 2:
Demonstrating the Invisible Regions of the
Purpose
The purpose of this demonstration is to investigate the invisible electromagnetic spectrum by
employing various detectors to indicate the presence of waves.
Diffraction grating; variable voltage supply; 100200W clear lamp and socket; sensitive
temperature sensor; UV source and detector; IR source and detector; small portable radio or
TV; Faraday cage, metal box, or wire mesh box; microwave oven; distilled water; NaCl;
two 250 ml beakers; stopwatch; leaf electroscope; Crookes tube and induction coil; electrical
wire; gamma source; aluminum sheet; lead sheet.
Discussion
Energy that is emitted from vibrating electric charges produces electromagnetic waves.
Power waves, radio/TV waves, and microwaves are produced by atoms or molecules
vibrating slowly over macroscopic distances. Infrared waves are produced by more rapidly
vibrating atoms or molecules or by slowly vibrating electrons. Electrons vibrating at a faster
rate produce visible light. Even more rapidly vibrating electrons produce ultraviolet and X-
rays. Gamma rays are produced by nuclear transitions (changes of the nucleus from one
energy level to another). It can generally be stated that the more massive the particle, the
more slowly it vibrates. Therefore only tiny masses, such as electrons, can vibrate fast
enough to produce high frequencies, whereas large masses, such as atoms and molecules,
vibrate slowly enough to produce low frequencies. The faster an object vibrates, the more
energy it can release.
Demonstration
Name: Class: Date:
14 Demonstrating the Invisible Regions Laboratory No. 2
14
Review Questions
1. Make a statement that relates the mass of a particle to the kind of wave it produces.
2. What causes an electromagnetic wave?
3. What is a heat wave? Can you see a heat wave?
4. Why can't you see UV or IR?
5. What is a nuclear transition?
Procedure
Record your observations for each of the types of invisible radiation that your teacher
demonstrates.
Answer the following question based on your observations in class:
1. Blackbody Radiator
(a) What do you notice about the spectrum as the brightness (temperature) of the light
bulb increases?
(b) What proof do you have from the demonstration that electromagnetic waves are
produced by a heated but not glowing bulb?
2. Ultraviolet
(a) Describe the UV detector.
(b) What sources of UV did you detect?
3. Infrared
(a) Describe the IR detector.
(b) How did this investigation demonstrate the presence of IR waves?
4. Radio/TV
(a) How does the shielding experiment demonstrate that radio signals are waves?
5. Microwaves
(a) Why don't microwaves pass through the screening on the oven door?
(b) Why does salted water heat faster than pure water in the microwave oven?
Sunlight
15
Instructors Guide to Lab No. 3 (a & b):
Why Are There Colors
in a Compact Disk?
Goal
The goal is to introduce the phenomena of interference and diffraction using a common
everyday items such as a audio compact disk (CD). Identify natural examples of iridescence
found in nature.
Objectives
After performing this exercise students will be able to:
Understand the phenomena of wave diffraction
Understand the phenomena of wave interference
Calculate the wavelength of different colors of light using an ordinary CD
We have divided this lab into two sections: the first just examines the cause of the colors
in the CD and the general property of iridescence and interference patterns. The second part
actually uses the CD as a diffraction grating; students start with the known value of the
wavelength of violet light (450 nm) and then determine the spacing between tracks on the
CD.
This lab offers a fascinating look at the CD as a diffraction grating. An excellent
description of the phenomena is presented in the student labs. Because of their wide use and
desirability, students find it quite compelling to learn about the CDs. This might be a good
opportunity to introduce some of physics that goes on in the standard operation of a CD
player. The article by T.D. Rossing is a fitting reference here.
It is interesting to note that there are no continuous grooves or even tracks present as a
mechanical structure on a CD. The occurrence of closely spaced pits, however, is sufficient
to give the strong visual interference effects. This shows that an ideal grating is not required;
a sufficiently periodic structure also does the job!
A similar phenomena is thin film interference. See the demo described in the extension
below. The bright colors in a peacocks feathers, as well as the similarly bright colors on the
throat of a hummingbird, are due to interference, not to absorption and reflection as with
normal colored objects. Structures in the feathers act as multilayer interference films that
exhibit constructive interference for the colors that you see from the feathers, for example,
blue and green from the peacock feather. Look at the peacock feather from different angles
and notice how the color changes. Other creatures exhibit similar interference effects, such as
the Morpho butterfly from South America and the beetle Chrysochroa fulminans, for which
the interference combines with a highly glossy surface to give colors which range from
metallic gold to green (Jewitt, 1994).
Activity
16 Instructors Guide to Lab No. 3 (a & b)
16
Helpful Hints
Use a peacock feather for students to examine natural examples of iridescence. Have
students look at the peacock feather from different angles and notice how the color
changes. Introduce them to abalone shells and have them identify the multiple thin layers
that cause the beautiful colors.
Set up various light sources for the students to study with the CD as a diffraction grating.
Use the mercury and neon lamps included in the resource box.
Sample data for the track spacing measurements in Lab No. 3b is: s = 20 cm, r = 6.0 cm,
which results in a track spacing of d = 1566 nm, very close to 1600 nm!
Extensions
Another way to do this experiment would be to start the students with the known track
spacing for the CD (1600 nm from manufacturers data) and have them determine the
approximate wavelength of violet light (450 nm).
After measuring the track spacing, you may want to have you students approximate the
total track length on the CD. A good way to do this would be measure the width of the
CD surface (r r
outer inner
) and divide by the track spacing (1600 nm) to determine the total
number of tracks. Then multiply this by the average radius
1
2
( ) r r
outer inner
+ . This should
come out to be several miles!
Do your students believe that light can never pass through a metal, no matter however
thin it is? Make them look through a CD. They have to believe you, though, that the
material inside is a metal.
Interference by Thin Films - Dip a dark-colored coffee cup (dark colors make the best
background for viewing interference colors) in dish washing detergent, and then hold it
sideways and look at the reflected light from the soap film that covers its mouth. Swirling
colors appear as the soap runs down to form a wedge that grows thicker at the bottom
with time. The top becomes thinner, so thin that it appears black. This tell us that its
thickness is less than one-fourth the thickness of the shortest waves of visible light.
Whatever its wavelength, light reflecting from the inner surface reverses phase, rejoins
light reflecting from the inner surface reverses phase, rejoins light reflecting from the
outer surface, and cancels. The film soon becomes so thin it pops.
References
J.W. Jewitt, Physics Begins With an M (Allyn and Baker, Needahm Heights, MA, 1994).
T.D. Rossing, The Compact Disc Digital Audio System, The Physics Teacher 25, 556
(1987).
C. Noldeke Compact Disk Diffraction, The Physics Teacher 28, 484 (1990).
G. Ramme, Colors on Soap Films An Interference Phenomenon, The Physics Teacher
28, 479 (1990).
Visible Light
17
Laboratory No. 3a
Why Are There Colors
in a Compact Disk?
Purpose
To investigate the diffraction and interference of light reflected from a normal audio compact disk.
Compact disk (CD), ordinary incandescent light source, miscellaneous light sources.
Discussion
The rainbow of colors reflected from
the surface of a compact audio disk is a
familiar sight. This is the same display of
colors that is produced by a diffraction
grating such as the one used in the
previous labs to investigate visible spectra.
This means that a CD essentially behaves
as a diffraction grating. In order to understand how a diffraction grating works to separate colors of
light, we need to examine some of the special wave properties of light. The wave properties of light
create some of natures most beautiful spectacles, including the colors in a peacocks tail, abalone
shells, rainbows, and soap films.
One of the most interesting properties of waves is called
interference, which is caused by the overlapping of waves
sharing the same space at the same time. When waves overlap
they combine to form a new wave which is the sum of the
effects of each wave. Interference can be either constructive or
destructive. Figure 2 shows a hypothetical situation in which
waves from a storm off the Alaska coast might interfere with
waves from Hawaii near a California beach. When the waves
from each storm arrive crest-to-crest (in-phase) they interfere constructively and combine to form a
stronger wave. When the waves arrive crest-to-trough (out of phase) they interfere destructively and
cancel one another out. Interference effects can be either partial or complete.
When light is reflected from a regular pattern of tiny objects, interference causes colors to appear.
Figure 1 shows how light striking the reflective surface of a CD composed of regularly spaced tracks
can interfere constructively, causing intense reflection of particular wavelength at certain angles. If the
viewer changes angles with respect to the CD, some other wavelength interferes constructively the
color seen depends on the angle of observation, just as with a rainbow.
Such colors from interference are called iridescence (iris: Latin for rainbow). The shells and wings
of some wasps and beetles have parallel grooves that produce iridescence. Iridescent butterflies have
scales that act as reflective gratings. Iridescence can also come from constructive reflections of thin
films such as soap films or gasoline on a wet street. The brilliant iridescent blues and greens from
some types of seaweed and from abalone shells come from constructive reflections from multiple thin
layers. The bright colors in a peacocks feathers and the throat of a hummingbird are also due to
iridescence. Structures in the feathers act as multilayer interference films that exhibit constructive
interference for the colors that you see from the feathers.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
violet
red
Incoming Light
Diffracted Light
6
7
8
6
7
8
Figure 1
B
Constructive Interference
(Complete)
Destructive Interference
(Complete)
+
=
+
Wave off
California
Coast
Alaska
Storm
Wave
Hawaii
Storm
Wave
Figure 2
18 Why Are There Colors in a Compact Disk? Laboratory No. 3a
18
As well as being beautiful, interference patterns are extremely useful, and provided the first
convincing demonstration of the wave nature of light. We can use a reflective surface with regularly
spaced grooves in it, called a diffraction grating, to measure and study light. In the previous labs you
used another type of grating called a transmission diffraction grating to disperse light into its
constituent colors and to determine the colors of light that are emitted by different light sources.
Both transmission and reflection-type diffraction gratings are extensively used in the sciences to
study light; the use and function of each is essentially the same. Both types are manufactured very
carefully, and typically contain six-hundred or so grooves or lines per millimeter!
It turns out that the regular pattern of pits contained on the reflective surface of a CD causes the
CD to behave much like a grating. As with a manufactured grating, different angles of viewing cause
constructive interference to occur for different wavelengths (colors) of light. Thus, reflection of white
light off the surface gives a spectrum of colors across the surface of the CD. At small viewing angles,
the shorter wavelengths constructively interfere (violet, blue, and indigo) while the longer wavelengths
will constructively interfere at larger viewing angles (red, orange, and yellow). Interestingly enough,
diffraction gratings might be more reasonably called interference gratings!
Review Questions
1. What is interference?
2. What is iridescence?
3. How is a CD similar to a diffraction grating?
4 In what way would a diffraction grating be better called an interference grating.
Activities
1. Take a normal audio CD to a incandescent source of light and examine the interference pattern
that results from reflected light. What colors do you see? What order are they in? Which end of the
spectrum is closest to you, violet or red? What does this say about the wavelengths of each color in
the spectrum?
2. Examine the CD in front of the mercury light source. What colors do you see? What does this say
about the wavelengths of light emitted by excited mercury gas. Use the CD to examine the light
emission of other light sources setup by your instructor, such as a neon glow lamp, Gro-Lux lamp,
and Cyalume light sticks.
3. Are the brilliant feathers of a peacock really blue and green? Look at a peacock feather at different
angles and notice how the color changes. What is going on here? What is the source of the brilliant
blues and greens we see? Pigmentation or interference effects?
4. You can do this one as a home project in the kitchen sink. Dip a dark-colored coffee cup (dark
colors make the best background for viewing interference colors) in dish washing detergent, and
then hold it sideways and look at the reflected light from the soap film that covers its mouth.
Swirling colors appear as the soap runs down to form a wedge that grows thicker at the bottom
with time. This is called thin-film interference. Ask your instructor for a detailed description.
Interference phenomena is all around us! Can you spot more?
Visible Light
19
Laboratory No. 3b
The Compact Disk as
Diffraction Grating
Purpose
To use an audio compact disk (CD) as a diffraction grating and the known wavelength of violet light
to measure the spacing between tracks.
Compact disk, ordinary incandescent light source (40 W bulb will do), and a ruler.
Discussion
When light is reflected from a regular pattern of tiny objects,
interference causes colors to appear. In the previous lab we saw how
light striking the reflective surface of a CD composed of regularly
spaced tracks can interfere constructively, causing intense reflection
of particular wavelength at certain angles. The pattern of colors
generated by both reflection and transmission diffraction gratings is
called an interference pattern. These patterns can be both strikingly
beautiful and extremely useful, and provided the first convincing
demonstration of the wave nature of light.
Both transmission and reflection-type diffraction gratings are
extensively used in the sciences to study light; the use and function of
each is essentially the same. Although the interference patterns
produced by gratings are generated by the interference properties of
light, there is another important wave phenomena going on here called diffraction. This is one of the
more obvious properties of waves and refers to the spreading and bending of waves around objects.
This is why sound can bend around corners, allowing you to hear a stereo play from another room
before you actually enter the room and see the stereo. You might wonder, though, why light does not
bend in the same manner, if it is truly a wave. If light and sound are both waves, why dont they act
the same? The reason turns out to be one of size. In fact, light does bend, but on a much smaller scale
because of its much smaller wavelength. In order for diffraction to be noticeable, the object causing
the bending or spreading must be about the same size as the wave. This is only several hundred
nanometers (10
-9
m) for visible light! This is why typical diffraction gratings used for visible contain
thousands of closely spaces lines (called rules or slits), about 600 per millimeter.
When light from a light source passes through a transmission diffraction grating, each slit in the
grating diffracts or spreads the light as if it were originating from a point source. In effect, a
diffraction grating produces thousands of closely-spaced mini-light sources. Furthermore, since the
light originated from the same source behind the grating, the light from each slit is coherent
(synchronized) with one another. A compact disk, with its closely spaced grooves and reflective
aluminum plating, essentially provides thousands of tiny, closely spaced mirrors capable of
diffracting light by reflection. It is these closely spaced coherent light sources created by diffraction
that interact to produce the interference patterns that we use to detect, study, and measure light. For
example, if we know the distance d between slits or rules on the grating, then we can use the grating
to measure the wavelengths of light emitted by any source using the grating. Conversely, we can use a
known wavelength of a particular color of light, such as violet ( = 450 nm), to measure the tiny
distance between tracks on a CD! In a sense, were using the wavelength of light itself as a sort of
super-fine meterstick to measure distances smaller the width of a human hair!
Now that we understand the concepts involved, lets take a closer look at how we can use a CD as
diffraction grating to measure the tiny spacing between tracks. Although interference patterns might
seem complicated, its really just a matter of geometry and the simple fact that constructive
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
Incoming
Waves
Bright
Bright
Bright
Dark
Dark
Dark
Dark
Diffracted
Waves
Grating
Screen
Figure 1
20 Why Are There Colors in a Compact Disk? Laboratory No. 3a
20
interference occurs at places that are multiple wavelengths from each source. The details of the
calculation will become clearer as you follow the procedure below.
Review Questions
1. How is a CD similar to a diffraction grating?
2. What is diffraction?
Procedure
1. Working with a partner, take a CD and a ruler and
stand about 2 m from the light source, which
should be placed at eye level behind you. Hold the CD at various positions in the light and
examine the brilliant colors that are reflected from the surface.
2. Hold the CD in front of you so that the reflection of the bulb disappears in the center hole. Hold
the CD about 10 cm from your eye so that circular spectrum can be observed on the disk. Increase
the distance until a violet pat of the spectrum appears on the edge of the CD. Measure the
distance between your eye and the disk: this is the distance s in Figure 2. With the help of the
visual structures on the edge of the CD, take notice of the radial position of the violet ring
appearing on the disk. Measure the radius of the disk from the center to outside edge where the
violet ring was observed; this is the distance r in Figure 2.
Analysis
A typical drawing detailing the geometry for constructive interference
from a diffraction grating is shown in Figure 3. The grating constant d is
effectively the track spacing of the CD. Using the accepted value of = 450
nm for violet light, use this drawing together with your measured values of r
and s to determine the approximate track spacing d. The procedure is
outlined below.
For a typical diffraction grating, light rays that are reflected straight back
without deviation interfere constructively to produce the brightest image at
the center of the screen (or the observers eye). This image is useful for
alignment of the diffracted spectra, and was conveniently passed through the
hole of CD in this experiment. Constructive interference also occurs for any
angle such that the rays from adjacent tracks each travel an extra distance
of l n = , where is n is an integer that denotes the order of the image.
Using trigonometry, we see that constructive interference occurs when the
angle
n
is such that
l d n n
n
= = = sin , , ,... 1 2 3
The ring you measured on the CD is the first in a series of spectral images, and is called the first
order (n = 1). The angle in Figure 3 is the same as the angle shown in Figure 2. By varying the
distance s you effectively changed the angle , which causes different wavelengths (colors) of light to
constructively interfere. We can use the Pythagorean theorem for right triangles to calculate the sine
of the angle :
sin
n
r
s r
= =
+
opposite
hypotenuse
2 2
The track spacing d can be found by combining these two the equations and rearranging a little:
d n n
s r
r
n
= =
+
=
( ) +( )
=

1
1 450
2 2
2 2
sin
( )(
(
nm)
cm cm
cm)
nm
The international manufacturing standard for the track spacing of a CD is 1600 nm. How does your
measured value compare with this standard?
Eye
r
2 m
s
Lamp CD
Figure 2
l=n
d
Incoming Wavefronts
O
u
tg
o
in
g
W
a
ve
fro
n
ts
Figure 3
Visible Light
21
Instructors Guide to Laboratory No. 4:
Measuring Wavelengths of Light
Goal
The goal is to learn how to measure the wavelengths of various colors of light and line
spectra using an optical slit with a diffraction grating and simple optical bench.
Objectives
Understand the phenomena of wave diffraction
Understand the phenomena of wave interference
Calculate the wavelength of different colors of light using an ordinary CD
An excellent description of the phenomena is presented in the student lab. Everything
required to do this experiment except a meterstick is included in the Resource Box.
This experiment can also be done as a demonstration using the TV camera as the
observer. Clear line spectra can be seen on the screen. This setup can then be used with an IR
source to view IR spectra.
Helpful Hints
You may want to introduce the interference patterns here with the Moir-pattern slides
included in the Resource Box. Use an OHP and overlay the two slides on one another.
Move the slides around to demonstrate various configurations of interference. You may
want to save this demo for the next lab, Youngs Experiment.
An excellent way to conduct this lab is to assign the measurement of different line
spectra to different groups of students.
The mercury source included in the Box has several filters to isolate several different
mercury lines.
An incandescent-type neon bulb has some rich lines that can be observed.
You may want to do the Youngs Experiment lab before this one.
Extensions
This setup can then be used with an IR source to view IR spectra.
This experiment can also be done as a demonstration using the TV camera as the
observer. Clear line spectra can be seen on the screen. This setup can then be used with
an IR source to view IR spectra.
References
J.D. Wilson, Physics Laboratory Experiments 3e (D.C. Heath and Company, Lexington, MA,
1990), Chap 50.
Experiment
22
Visible Light
23
Laboratory No. 4
Measuring Wavelengths of Light
Purpose
To measure the wavelengths of light using a diffraction grating.
Optical bench (meterstick with supports), optical slit with scale and holder, diffraction
grating with holder, mercury light source, incandescent light source.
Discussion
A diffraction grating consists of a piece of
metal or glass with a very large number of
evenly spaced parallel lines or grooves.
Common laboratory gratings have 200 or 600
groves per mm. There are two types of
gratings: reflection gratings and transmission
gratings. Reflection gratings are ruled on
polished metal surfaces and light is reflected
from the unruled areas which act as a row of
slits. Transmission gratings are ruled on glass and the unruled slit areas transmit incident
light. The transmission type diffraction grating is used in this experiment.
Diffraction refers to the bending of waves around sharp edges or corners. The slits of a
grating cause light to be diffracted, and the diffracted light interferes with itself so as to set
up interference patterns, which produces a series of images of the source slit (Figure1). The
brightest image is the undeviated and undiffracted central maximum, which appears directly
in front of the slit as expected. Complete constructive interference of the waves occurs where
the phase or path difference is equal to one wavelength, which occurs symmetrically on both
sides of the central maximum at locations corresponding to
d n n
n
sin , , ,... = = 1 2 3
where is the wavelength of light being diffracted, n is the order of the image being formed
(first, second, etc.), d is the grating constant or the distance between the grating lines,
n
is
the angle the rays are diffracted from the incident direction, and d
n
sin is the path difference
between adjacent rays. The grating constant is given by
d N = 1/
where N is the number of lines or grooves per mm of the grating.
These devices, like prisms, disperse white light into colors. Whereas a prism separates the
colors of light by refraction, a diffraction grating separates colors by interference. Usually
only the first few orders are easily observed, with the total number of orders depending on
the grating constant. If the incident light is monochromatic (composed of a single
wavelength), the grating will spread the light into a series of well-determined lines. The
wavelength of these lines can be determined with a simple optical bench.
Review Questions
1. What is a diffraction grating?
3. How is a diffraction grating similar to a refraction prism?
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
Source
Slit
Grating
Central maximum
(n = 0)
n = 2
Second order
n = 2
n = 1
First order
n = 1
2
24 Measuring the Wavelength of Light Laboratory No. 4
24
Procedure
1. Record the number of lines per mm of your
grating in part in the data table below. Mount
the grating and the slit scale on the
meterstick-type optical bench as shown in
Figure 2. The planes of the grating and the
slit scale should be parallel.
2. Position an incandescent light source behind
the slit and observe the diffraction orders of
the continuous spectrum superimposed on
the scale with distance s between the slit and
the grating at 60, 80 and 100 cm. Looking
through the grating, note the difference in the pattern positions x
1
and x
2
for the first two
orders in each case. The images of the slit for a given order should appear at equal
distances from the center line. If they do not, rotate the grating slightly until they do.
3. Replace the incandescent light with the mercury vapor lamp fitted with one of the color
filters. Record the color of the filter in the data table below.
4. Looking through the grating, measure the apparent displacements of the brightest line in
the first or second order spectrum, for both the left and right sides. Record your
measurements for s = 60, 80, and 100 cm in the data table, and the order n you chose to
measure.
5. From Figure 2 it can be seen that sin
n
for a given order can be determined using
trigonometry, that is
sin

= =
+
side opposite
hypotenuse
x
s x
2 2
Compute sin for the measured first and second order for each distance s and find the
average value of sin
n
for each order.
6. Compute the grating constant d. Convert this number to nanometers by multiplying by
10
6
(1 mm 10 nm
6
= )
and record in the table
below. Calculate the
average wavelength of
the measured mercury
line using the equation
d n
n
sin = . Be sure
to include the correct
order n you chose to
measure.
Fill out the data table and
calculate the wavelength of
the measured line. Find out
from your teacher what the
accepted value is. Can you
identify any sources of error
in your measurements?
Source
Observer
Grating
Left First
Order Image
s
x
1
x
2
2
Right Second
Order Image
Slit
Metric Scale
Data Table
Grating lines per mm:
N =
Image order:
n =
Color
Distance
s (cm)
x
n
left
(cm)
x
n
right
(cm)
Avg. x
n
(cm)
sin
n
Average sin
n
Grating constant d
N
= ( ) ( )
1
10
6
mm nm/mm nm
Wavelength
exp
sin
( )
( )
( ) = =
d
n
n
nm
nm
Visible Light
25
Youngs Experiment
Goal
The goal is to reproduce Youngs famous double-slit experiment, verify the wave nature of
light, and measure the wavelength of red light.
Objectives
Understand the phenomena of wave diffraction.
Understand the phenomena of wave interference.
Understand the method and phenomena of double-slit interference.
Reproduce Youngs classic experiment and verify the wave nature of light
An excellent description of the method and history of this experiment is presented in the
student lab. Everything required to do this experiment except a meterstick is included in the
Resource Box.
This experiment is even more dramatic when done with a laser. The pattern may be
projected on a screen.
Helpful Hints
Introduce the interference patterns here with the Moir-pattern slides included in the
Resource Box. Use an OHP and overlay the two slides on one another. Move the slides
around to demonstrate various configurations of interference. You may want to save this
demo for the next lab, Youngs Experiment.
This experiment is even more dramatic when done with a laser. The pattern may be
projected on a screen.
Extensions
You may want to duplicate Youngs original method of manufacturing a double slit: hold
a microscope slide inverted over a candle and carefully coat the surface evenly with
lampblack. Scratch two slits as per the student lab.
Thomas Young made many contribution to various fields. He makes a good biographical
subject.
References
Consult any good Physics text for a detailed history and explanation of this experiment.
Experiment
26
Visible Light
27
Laboratory No. 5
Youngs Experiment
Purpose
To reproduce Youngs double-slit experiment and measure the wavelength of red light.
Optical slits kit, ruler, masking tape, micrometer (optional).
Discussion
In 1801 the wave nature of light was convincingly demonstrated when
the British physicist and physician Thomas Young performed his now-
famous interference experiment. Young found that light directed through
two closely spaced pinholes recombined to produce fringes of brightness
and darkness on a screen behind. The bright fringes resulted from light
waves of the two holes arriving crest to crest, while the dark areas
resulted from light waves arriving trough to crest. This pattern of interference fringes is called an interference
pattern, and is a general wave phenomena that arises whenever a series of waves arrive at the same place from
two synchronized sources, or from the same source by traversing two different paths.
The easiest way to demonstrate an interference pattern is with sound waves from two synchronized speakers,
each sounding the same signal. Because of the wave nature of sound some surprising effects occur: the total
loudness is not simply double that which would occur from a single speaker! Looking at the figure above, we
see that at the speakers, both sound waves are perfectly in step. But most places in the room in front of them are
closer to one speaker than to the other, so the waves dont arrive perfectly synchronized since they have
traveled different distances to reach their common destination. Point A in the figure is exactly one wavelength
farther from the right speaker than from the left one, and so arrive exactly one wavelength out of step. The
interference between the waves here is constructive, meaning the waves reinforce each other and produce an
extra strong tone. The same condition applies at point B, which is equally as far from the left speaker as from
the right one.
Point C, however, is one-half wavelength closer to its nearest speaker, and here the waves arrive exactly out
of step. The maximum air pressure for one wave coincides exactly with minimum air pressure for the other. In
this case we get destructive interference, meaning the waves cancel each other and little or no sound is heard!
The key to understanding an interference pattern is straightforward: take the difference between the
distances from the two sources and divide by the wavelength. The resulting number will tell you what kind of
interference will take place. If it is an integer (i.e., 0, 1, 2, 3, ...), the interference is constructive. If it lies
halfway between two integers (i.e.,
1
2
,1
1
2
, 2
1
2
,...), the interference is destructive. Intermediate values will give
intermediate results, including not-quite-perfect reinforcement and not-quite-perfect cancellation; within an
interference pattern, wave effects may be increased, decreased, or neutralized.
It is hard to synchronize two light sources, so interference patterns with light are usually produced by
splitting a light beam into two or more parts and recombining them on a screen. This was originally done by
Thomas Young using two closely spaced pinholes; each tiny pinhole behaved as a synchronized source because
of another wave phenomena known as diffraction. Diffraction is the bending of waves around sharp objects,
which causes waves to spread out as if originating from a point source.
Youngs experiment is now done with two closely spaced slits instead of pinholes, so that the fringe patterns
are straight lines. You can observe the interference of a single-slit diffraction pattern by holding up your hand to
a light source with two fingers closely spaced together. The light passing through the slit between your
fingers is seen as a series of lines! Interference of light waves does not, by the way, create or destroy light
energy; it merely redistributes it.
Interference patterns are not limited to single and double slits. A multitude of closely spaces slits make up a
diffraction grating. These devices, like prisms, disperse white light into colors. Whereas a prism separates the
colors of light by refraction, a diffraction grating separates colors by interference.
Review Questions
1. How was the wave nature of light demonstrated?
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
A
B
C
L R
28 Youngs Experiment Laboratory No. 5
28
Procedure
1. Coat a glass slide with a colloidal suspension of graphite and let it dry. Be sure the coating is
uniform. Scratch a pair of slits as shown in the sketch. Hold the two razor blades tightly together
and use little pressure. Make several pairs of slits. Select for use those which show at least three
clear white lines when you look a the line filament lamp. Scratch a window across each pair of
slits as shown.
2. Tape a clear slide over the graphite surface to protect the surface. The width between the slits is
equal to the thickness of one razor blade. If available, use a micrometer to determine the thickness
of a single blade, or else use an ordinary ruler to measure the thickness of a stack of blades and
divide by the number of blades. Record the thickness d in the data table below.
3. Connect the lamp to 115V. Use a ringstand to mount a ruler slightly above the lamp. Look
through the slits toward the filament of the light bulb from a distance of about 2 meters (Figure
2). Note what you see.
4. Tape two paper markers at positions on the ruler about where the farthest dark fringes (nodal
lines) can be seen. Since the nodal lines come in symmetric pairs (one on each side of the center),
you will use these markers to measure the distance between the farthest pair of nodal lines you
can observe.
5. Cover part of the bulb with red cellophane (using an elastic band) and note the effect on the
pattern. The interference pattern and the paper markers on the ruler can be seen simultaneously by
looking through the slits and the window scratched in the slide at the same time.
6. Now cover the whole bulb with red cellophane. Looking through the slide, move toward or away
from the ruler until you can align the furthest visible pair of fringe lines with the paper markers
on the ruler. Determine which number nodal line you are aligning to by counting the total fringes
between the markers and dividing by two. Also record the distance from the double-slit to the
ruler.
7. Now cover part of the bulb and part with blue. Note from your observations which color you
think has the shortest wavelength, and estimate the ratio of the wavelength of red light to the
wavelength of blue light.
Young determined the double-slit interference
pattern obeys the mathematical relationship
d n n
n
sin , , ,... = ( ) =
1
2
1 2 3
You can use this with your experimental
measurements to calculate the wavelength of light!
To a good approximation sin /
n n
x s .
Using the data table to the right, calculate

=
( )
d
n
n
sin
1
2
=
Two razor blades
held tightly
together
Coated
slide
n
2x
nodal lines lamp
double slit
s
Data Table
Distance between slits d mm
Convert to nm ( d 10
6
)
nm
Nodal line measured:
n
=
Distance between nodes cm
Half of distance ( x
n
)
cm
Distance from ruler s cm
sin /
n n
x s
Est. Ratio:

red blue
/
cm
Sunlight
29
Blue Skies and Red Sunsets
Goal
The goal here is to investigate the processes of scattering and absorption which give rise to
the different colors of the sky, sunsets, clouds, and oceans.
Objectives
After performing this activity students will be able to:
Understand the process of light scattering by small particles and molecules.
Duplicate the effect using a flashlight and bowl of water.
Apply their new knowledge of color theory
Understand why the sky appears blue.
Understand why the sun appears to become increasingly redder as it sets.
Describe the different scattering effects that make clouds appear blue.
Explain why oceans appear blue.
This activity is fully described in the student handout. You may wish to have students do
this one at home.
It is interesting to note that the blue of the sky varies in different places under different
conditions. A principal factor is the water vapor content of the atmosphere. On clear dry days
the sky is a much deeper blue than on clear days with high humidity. Places where the upper
air is exceptionally dry, such as Italy and Greece, have beautifully blue skies that have
inspired painters for centuries. Where there are a lot of particles of dust and other particles
larger than oxygen and nitrogen molecules, the lower frequencies of light are scattered more.
This makes the sky less blue, and it takes on a whitish appearance. After a heavy rainstorm
when the particles have been washed away, the sky becomes a deeper blue.
Helpful Hints
You may want to do this one as a demo using a bright light source such as a slide
projector.
This lab makes a good home project, since it only needs a flashlight and a large glass
bowl.
Extensions
Have students investigate the polarization of the scattered light using Polaroid filters
included in the Resource Box. Have them compare this to their findings for the real sky
(the one outdoors!)
References
Consult any good Physics or Physical Sciences text for a detailed description of this and
related phenomena.
Activity
30
Sunlight
31
Laboratory No. 6
Blue Skies and Red Sunsets
Purpose
To investigate how the scattering of sunlight by the Earths atmosphere produces blue skies
and orange sunsets.
Flashlight or slide projector, large glass bowl or pitcher filled with water, a few drops of milk
or a pinch of coffee creamer, and a polarizing filter (optional).
Discussion
When light interacts with objects that are much smaller than the wavelength of the light,
the light is said to be scattered rather than reflected. The electrons of such a small object are
all shaken up and down at the same time by the electric field of the light wave, and they
radiate that frequency of light in all directions. It turns out that the higher the frequency of
the light, the more the light is scattered.
The diameter of most molecules is much smaller than the wavelengths of visible light.
Most of the ultraviolet light from the sun is absorbed by a thin protective layer of ozone gas
in the upper atmosphere, and the remaining ultraviolet sunlight that passes through the
atmosphere is scattered by atmospheric particles and molecules. Of the visible frequencies of
light, the high-frequency violet is scattered the most, followed by blue, green, yellow,
orange, and red, in the order of decreasing frequency. Red is scattered less than a tenth as
much as violet. Although violet light is scattered more than blue, our eyes are not very
sensitive to violet and there tends to be more blue light in sunlight than violet. The blue
predominates in our vision, so we see a blue sky!
The grayish haze in the skies of large cities is a result of particles emitted by internal
combustion engines (cars, trucks, industrial plants). Even when idling, a typical automobile
engine emits more than 100 billion particles per second. Most are invisible and provide a
framework to which other particle adhere. These are the primary scatterers of lower
frequency light. For the larger of these particles, absorption rather than scattering takes place
and brownish haze we call smog is produced. Yuk!
Since the lower frequencies of light are scattered the least by nitrogen and oxygen
molecules (the primary components of our atmosphere), red, orange, green, and yellow light
are transmitted through the atmosphere much more than violet and blue. Red, which is
scattered the least, passes through more atmosphere than any other color. Therefore, when
white light passes through a thick atmosphere, the higher frequency blue and violet is
scattered the most while the lower frequencies such as red are transmitted with minimal
scattering. Such a thicker atmosphere is presented to sunlight at sunset, since the path
through the atmosphere is longer as the sun is lower on the horizon. This means that the sun
becomes progressively redder as the sun goes down, going from yellow to orange.
Clusters of water molecules in variety of sizes make up clouds. The different size clusters
result in a variety of scattered frequencies: the tiniest, blue; slightly large clusters, green; and
still larger clusters, red. The overall result is a white cloud! For even larger droplets,
absorption occurs and the scattered intensity is less. The clouds are darker. What about even
bigger drops? Well, their increased size causes them to fall to earth, and we have rain!
Activity
Name: Class: Date:
Blue Skies and Red Sunsets Laboratory No. 6
32
34
Since were on the subject of colors, lets discuss water. The color of water is not the
beautiful deep blue that you often see on a surface of a lake or the ocean. That blue is the
reflected color of the sky. The color of water itself, as you can see by looking at a piece of
white material under water, is a pale greenish blue.
Although water is transparent to nearly all the visible frequencies of light, water
molecules very weakly absorb visible red light, and strongly absorb infrared waves. The
energy of infrared waves is transformed into internal energy in the water, which is why
sunlight warms water. Weakly-absorbed visible red light is reduced to a quarter of its initial
brightness by 15 meters of water, and there is very little red light in the sunlight that
penetrates below 30 meters of water. When red is taken away from white light, what color
remains? This question can be asked another way: What is the complementary color of red?
The complementary color of red is cyan a bluish green color. In sea water, the color of
everything at these depths looks greenish.
So while the sky is blue because blue is strongly scattered by molecules in the
atmosphere, water is bluish green because red is absorbed by molecules in the water. We see
that the colors of things depend on which colors are scattered or reflected by molecules and
also on which colors are absorbed by molecules.
Review Questions
1. What happens when light interacts with objects that are much smaller than the
wavelength of the light?
2. Why does the sky appear blue?
3. Why are sunsets red?
4. What causes oceans to appear blue?
Activity
1. Heres a way to make your own blue
skies and reddish sunsets. When a
flashlight beam penetrates a pitcher of
clear water, theres little change in the
color of the beam. Add a few drops of
milk to the water, however, and youll
see the beam of light turn a reddish orange (Figure 1). The milks molecules scatter the
blue light (and some green and yellow, too) in all directions before it can reach your eyes,
just as the airs molecules do for the rays of sunlight at sunset. Now look through the side
of the pitcher, perpendicular to the beam. Wow! Theres the blue light scattered to the
sides (and in all directions), just as the air scatters blue light from sunlight to give us blue
skies.
2. Look at the scattered light through a polarizer. Rotate the polarizer and explain what you
see. Does this mean that the scattered blue light of the sky is polarized? After you answer
this question, take the polarizer outside or to a window and check your answer. Notice
the the polarization of different parts of the sky by rotating the polarizer.
Bluish light
Reddish light
A few drops of milk
in a pitcher of water
Flashlight
Sunlight
33
Living on Borrowed Sunshine
Goal
The goal of this particular lesson is to allow students to use their own creativity in order to
better understand and remember the complex pathways of photosynthesis.
Objectives
After the explorations the students should be able to:
1. The student will understand the basic operation of photosynthesis by using creative
writing techniques to form a story that involves fundamental aspects of the process.
2. The student will appreciate the interrelatedness of light energy and energy transfers with
life on earth.
3. By using the story approach, the student will gain an appreciation for the complexity of
life processes such as photosynthesis.
The suggested lesson here is to have the students learn the process of photosynthesis by
writing a creative story. In this regard, the traditional, cool detachment of science is
disregarded and a more humanistic approach is used. By identifying photons, for example,
with human names, a student has an easier time remembering the complexities.
Photosynthesis can be broken down into two basic steps:
1. Light dependent reaction:
a. water molecule breakdown
b. photon capture
c. coenzyme interaction
d. photon capture
e. coenzyme interaction
f. NADPH+ reaction
2. Light independent reaction:
a. carbon dioxide capture
b. carbon fixing reaction
c. introduction of hydrogens
d. PGAL production
e. cycle continuation
It would be helpful to set up stories or other activities so that they are limited to one of
the two major steps. This way other groups can interact with each other and exchange
information.
Additional Activities
1. Using a traditional text as a source, create a comic or some other graphic outline to
"draw" out the story so it be used as an aid in understanding the plot. See attached.
Activity
34 Instructors Guide to Laboratory No. 7
34
2. Students often enjoy acting out the parts they discover in their story. A skit, allowing
students to use their full range of talents, gives another avenue by which understanding
can be achieved. For example, students could be various co-enzymes, tennis balls could
be used for photons, etc. An active process allows the students to grasp the meaning of an
otherwise abstract concept. Besides, it's fun. It is recommended that a group of at least
five students be used per skit. This allows the various portions of photosynthesis to be
displayed without one student doing too many parts.
Helpful Hints
Note: This is a sample story to help the teacher better understand the potential of this
kind of assignment. It is suggested that it not be read or distributed to the students since
they will have a tendency to use it instead of their own imagination. This particular story
focuses on photons, but any angle is appropriate as long as it pulls in the major portions
of photosynthesis. It is assumed that the reader has some familiarity with the process.
It was a typical beach party. Blankets on the sand, a roaring fire and marshmallows
roasting over the coals. It was here that I came upon a realization, an epiphany beyond my
wildest dreams. In fact it took a dream to come full circle to help me understand what it all
meant. It has to do with the fire that resides within us all. The borrowed sunshine that powers
all life on earth.
But first, the beach party.
"Your marshmallow is on fire," a friend warned.
Pulling the burning puff of sugar from the flames, I wondered out loud why it was burning at
all.
"Sugar," my friend said.
"Sugar?"
"Yes. All sugar will burn if you give it enough heat. Just like the wood in the fire."
It was then I began to wonder. Burning sugar. Burning wood. Where did all this potential
fire come from? Then it hit me. The sun! Both the sugar and the wood had been produced by
plants. The plants had taken energy from the sun and stored it within their roots, stems and
leaves. The fire I was watching was actually borrowed sunshine being released into the air,
warming everything around it.
"Fire. Sunshine. Photosynthesis. It all makes sense now," I mumbled to myself.
"What?"
I turned to my friend and tried to explain. It wasn't long however, before his eyes began
to glaze over and roll like the cherries in a slot machine. I took this as a hint of inappropriate
party conversion and excused myself.
I left the party and walked alone down the beach, finding a soft spot to rest to further
ponder my thoughts. It was late and the day's activities had left me spent. Therefore, it wasn't
long before I succumbed to my own heavy eyelids and wandering neurons. A pre-snoozing
body jerk eventually left me falling into a deep sleep. Thoughts of sunshine danced in my
head. The answers to my questions were to come to me in my dreams . . .
Polly the photon was wiggling her way to earth through the void of space. As a packet of
light energy generated by the vibrating electrons on the sun, she represented a distinct
quantity of light. And as such, she could cause only certain kinds of reactions when she hit
the surface of some distant molecule. Like many of her other visible light friends, she might
very well end up traveling through the windshield of some parked car, hitting the plastic seats
and be converted into basic heat energy by the molecules she bumped into. Unable to escape
Living on Borrowed Sunshine 35
35
the car's interior due the new, lower energy level, and hence larger wavelength, her spent
energy would help turn the passenger compartment into a solar powered oven.
She would never have the opportunity to contribute to greater things.
However, this was not to be Polly's fate. Her destiny would be much more productive by
her chance encounter with a leaf. For leaves need photons like Polly. Her wavelength and
therefore, her color, were just right for the energy requirements of photosynthesis, the
powerhouse of life on earth. Instead of being wasted on a hot steering wheel, Polly would
end up helping to build the foundation of all living things.
Meanwhile, the leaves down on earth were waving in the wind, hoping for a few million
photons to come their way. Not just any photon, but specific ones. The violet-blues and the
orange-reds are desired most. These are what power the photosynthetic machine within the
leaf. The greens, however, are shunned and reflected. Thus, the leaves appear green. They
show off the colors rejected, not absorbed. The colors we see are in fact the unwanted hues.
In this sense then, the green leaf is every color but green. A confusing state indeed.
Polly had a wavelength that appeared red. 680 nanometers to be exact. A nanometer is
pretty small. A million of them span the tiny distance of a millimeter. So Polly's wavelength
was tiny, but compared to things like X-rays which can be a million times smaller and thus
more dangerous for their ability to penetrate into things, her waves were still quite
respectable. Not too small, not too large. This was exactly what the leaves were looking for.
Upon reaching the earth after leaving the sun little more than eight minutes before, at her
standard speed of 186,000 miles per second, Polly slammed into an apple tree leaf.
"Come on in," the chlorophyll molecule said with a snicker. "Welcome aboard."
Along with another one of her friends, who was Polly's exact twin, the two photons
entered the photo system II station house. This was a magical place where the chlorophyll
lived and completely absorbed the energy of the appropriate incoming photons. Sadly, Polly
and her friend were no more, but their energy lived on. It was used to kick Mr. Z into action
and to push two tiny electrons through a series of molecules. Where, one may ask, do these
little electrons come from? Surprisingly, the answer is water . Now the need for sprinklers
can be finally understood. Plants need water molecules to steal their electrons. Two electrons
per molecule to be exact. This is accomplished within a little fellow called the Z particle. Mr.
Z for short. Mr. Z beats up the water with energy from the photons, throws its two protons
into the lumen, coughs out its oxygen and frees two new electrons to be energized by photons
like Polly and her friend. Once the electrons have ripped from their mother water, they travel
through several stationary molecules. During the first part of their journey, their energy is
used to pump protons into the lumen for the production of a special transfer molecule called
ATP.
The lumen? This is a fluid filled space within a round, little structure called a thylakoid.
Hundreds of these thylakoids lay in stacks, pancake stacks, within the chloroplast, a larger
round object found by the thousands inside all green leaves. Little things within bigger
things. Such is the nature of nature. The leaf is no exception. And the H
+
protons? These are
atomic particles with a positive charge floating freely outside the lumen and becoming
attracted to the moving, positively charged electrons.
I partially awaken myself with a snore as I snort in a lung full of air. "Ah, this is where
my oxygen comes from", I thought to myself. "Coughing Z's, Mr. Z, Mr. Z, Mr. Z . . ." I
drift back to sleep and into my dreams.
But alas, energy cannot last forever. The energy given to them by Polly and friend is
shortly exhausted. Time for more. At this point the two electrons hang out at the photo
system I station until two more photons appear. These are a bit less what energetic than Polly
was, by 20 nanometers to be exact, but they get the job done.
Yipes!" cried the abused electrons as they receive their new burst of borrowed sunshine.
36 Instructors Guide to Laboratory No. 7
36
Through the maze of additional molecules they travel until they are picked up by a roving
marauder, NADP
+
. Capturing the two unsuspecting electrons and two H
+
protons that
happen to be floating along, NADP
+
changes his name to NADPH+H
+
.
Rushing away from the scene of the crime, the marauder looses one of his H
+
protons
and gets lost in the Stroma, the Land of Darkness. It is here where the work really begins.
The rising tide tickles my feet with a lapping wave. I awaken with a face full of wet sand.
"Argghh"
As I slowly make my way back to the fire, I find only smoldering embers and a quiet
beach. I reached down and grab an apple from the supplies I had brought earlier. An apple
made of the same building blocks as the wood that had burned several hours earlier.
"Crunch." The apple is fresh and filled with natural sugar. How did it get there?
Once the marauding NADPH reaches the Land of Darkness within the chloroplast, he
delivers his booty of H
+
protons to the sugar cycle. These protons are added to a mix of
carbon dioxide and other carbon molecules to produce PGAL. This in turn is sent to the
glucose factory to produce glucose, the basic building block of all plant life.
As I finish my apple and find my way to the car, my mind drifts through the confines of
my car's engine. Might the gasoline, made from oil, formed in the ground by partially
decayed plant material, also be borrowed sunshine? I feel my forehead and ask myself, "do I
too owe this heat to the power of the sun?"
Polly has long since vanished.
References
1. Robert Wallace/Jack King/Gerald Sanders, Biology, the Science of Life, 2nd edition,
Scott, Foresman and Company, 1986. This is one of the better descriptions of photosynthesis,
although there are some confusing points.
Sunlight
37
Laboratory No. 7
Purpose
The purpose of this particular lesson to gain a better understanding of the complex pathways
of photosynthesis through creative writing.
Paper, pen, and a creative spirit.
Activity
Your mission is to simplify the complexities of photosynthesis. Select one of the two
major parts of the process, either the light dependent or light independent reaction, and write
a creative story or plan a skit with a group of five to seven other students. Give names to your
characters such as Mr. Z for the z particle that breaks up the water molecule or distinct
personalities to major players like the photons.
Review Questions
1. What is the purpose of photosynthesis?
2. What role does water play in the light dependent reaction?
3. Are photons used, transformed, or burned during photosynthesis? Explain.
4. What does the energy obtained from photons actually do?
5. Can the light independent process, often called the dark cycle, occur during both the day
and night? Explain.
Activity
Name: Class: Date:
38 Living on Borrowed Sunshine Laboratory No. 7
38
Infrared Radiation
39
Instructors Guide to Labs No. 8 & 9:
Infrared Radiation and the
Inverse-Square Rule
and
Detecting Infrared Radiation
Using a Prism
Goal
The goal of these two lab exercises is to introduce the infrared region of the electromagnetic
spectrum to students through three different explorations.
Objectives
After the explorations the students will be able to:
Understand which regions of the electromagnetic spectrum penetrate the earth's
atmosphere.
Identify similarities in magnetic waves.
Explain three ways infrared radiation can be detected.
Explain the relationship between the number of rotations and the distance from
the source when using the radiometer.
Predict the results of this relationship using a mathematical model (inverse-
square law).
Determine the temperature beyond the red region.
Understand the transmissive and reflective properties of infrared radiation by
using a photodetector setup.
There are three forms of radiation: electromagnetic (EM), mechanical, and particle. These
three experiments will be focusing on electromagnetic radiation. Electromagnetic radiation is
sometimes referred to as light or radiant energy. Electromagnetic radiation travels outward
from its source as waves (pulses) or photons (packets) of energy. The speed of a photon or
EM wave in a vacuum is the same no matter how much energy it carries. This speed is
referred to as the speed of light which is equal to 299,792,456 m/sec and represented by the
letter c.
This section deals with the infrared region of the spectrum. Vibrations and rotations of
atoms and molecules and the motions of their electrons produce this region of the spectrum.
The nature of infrared (IR) has been given in the student exploration. It is important that the
students understand the properties of IR. It can be transmitted, absorbed or reflected. These
properties are also characteristics of the other regions of the EM spectrum.
Experiment
40 Instructors Guide to Labs No. 8 & 9
40
Helpful Hints
Resources:
Everything needed to conduct this experiment is included in the Resource Box.
Descriptions below of materials other than what is in the Box is for informational
use.
Student Handouts:
This unit is comprised of two separate laboratory exercises, and includes separate
student handouts for each. Refer to each handout for details about materials and
procedures. Note that the discussion and review questions are duplicated in each lab
so that they may be used as individual units if time dictates.
Lab No. 1:
The first lab uses a hotplate. The one I use is approximately 11 x 11 cm. (corning). I
use the high setting. You may want to try the experiment using the hotplates available
at your site. You may have to vary the temperature setting, etc. I also use any metal
baking pan available to raise the hotplate up to the radiometers level.
The mathematical relationship the students should be able to see is that one
physical quantity (number of rotations) varies as the inverse square of the distance
from its source. This is referred to as the inverse-square law. Depending on the data
collection skills used by the students, this law can be seen in the individual
experiments. It can readily be seen when the students data are pooled together and
averaged for each distance-time interval.
Lab No. 2:
I strongly suggest that you test this setup in advance. It works well with correct
size box and light source. The students will be able to record a noticeable difference
in the temperature increase of the IR region just beyond the visible red region.
This experiment also can be done using the large diffraction grating to disperse
the spectra.
Infrared Radiation
41
Laboratory No. 8:
Infrared Radiation and the
Inverse-Square Law
Purpose
The purpose of these labs are to investigate the infrared (IR) region of the electromagnetic
spectrum using devices that detect IR sources.
Hot plate, radiometer, pan, or other item to raise hot plate, metric ruler, graph paper, and
stopwatch.
Discussion
One form of radiation is electromagnetic or radiant energy. Sunlight is a familiar form of
electromagnetic radiation. Only the visible radiation and parts of the infrared and radio
regions penetrate the atmosphere completely. Due to absorption by atmospheric nitrogen and
oxygen none of the short-wavelength, high-energy gamma rays, xrays, and short-
wavelength (up to 210 nm) ultraviolet radiation make it through. Stratospheric ozone (O
3
)
eliminates another section of the UV band, between 210 and 310 nm.
The various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum produce very different effects when
they interact with matter but they all travel at the same speed in a vacuum 299,792,456 m/sec
(speed of light). The wavelength range between about 750 nm to 1,000,000 nm (or 1 mm) is
called the infrared region. William Herschel discovered this part of the electromagnetic
spectrum when he placed a thermometer just outside the red end of the color spectrum. It
registered a large temperature increase. Hence, infrared radiation may be detected as heat.
The heat you feel from a fireplace, campfire, sunlight, or the ground are all sources of
infrared radiation.
Many living things emit infrared radiation. Rattlesnakes (pit-vipers) have a special pit
organ that is sensitive to infrared radiation and allows them to see minute temperature
variations in their environment. Detecting small temperature variations allows the snake to
detect its prey even in the darkest of burrows. The radiometer is a device that was invented
by Sir William Crookes in 1875 to demonstrate the mechanical effect of light radiation. Later
it was used to detect and measure the intensity of infrared radiation. The radiometer is a
partially-evacuated tube which contains a structure with four vanes. Each vane has a dark
(black) and a light (silver) side. The dark side absorbs much of the infrared radiation and the
light side reflects more than it absorbs. The free molecules present in the tube gain energy
and react more with the dark side and push the dark side away from the radiation source. The
speed of rotation indicates the amount of radiation. Radiometers have been replaced by solid-
state electronic devices that measure radiant energy more accurately.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
42 Infrared Radiation and the Inverse-Square Law Laboratory No. 8
42
Review Questions
1. Which regions of the electromagnetic spectrum penetrate the earths atmosphere completely?
2. Which waves do not penetrate the earths atmosphere?
3. What do all electromagnetic waves have in common?
4. What are three ways you can detect infrared radiation?
5. How can a pit viper tell that a mouse is hiding in a very dark place?
6. Can you see infrared waves? Explain.
Procedure
1. Place hot plate on its side and plug it in. The hot plate must be at approximately the same level as
the vanes of the radiometer (place on block or pan).
2. Turn on the hot plate and give it two minutes to warm up.
3. After the hot plate warms up you will be setting the radiometer in front of it about 24 cm away.
You are to observe the number of rotations the vanes on the radiometer make in a two-minute
period.
4. Move the radiometer to 22 cm observing the number of rotations for another 2 minutes. Continue
to move the radiometer in at 2 cm intervals and record for two minutes at each interval. Record
the number of rotations on your data table. Repeat this step until you reach 6 cm.
6. Record data in table below.
TRIAL
DISTANCE
FROM SOURCE TIME
NUMBER OF
ROTATIONS
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
1. Graph the number of rotations and the distance.
2. Did distance affect the radiometer's rotation?
3. What mathematical model can you use to predict the results?
4. Explain the journey of the infrared radiation from the moment it leaves the hot plate to
the point at which the radiometer begins to rotate.
Infrared Radiation
43
Laboratory No. 9:
Detecting Infrared Radiation
Using a Prism
Purpose
The purpose of these labs are to investigate the infrared (IR) region of the electromagnetic
spectrum using devices that detect IR sources.
Box (24 in. long and ~812 in. high), quartz bulb with socket, prism, thermometer, 8 x 12 in.
backboard (to display spectra), and black sheet of paper. Optional: diffraction grating
Discussion
One form of radiation is electromagnetic or radiant energy. Sunlight is a familiar form of
electromagnetic radiation. Only the visible radiation and parts of the infrared and radio
regions penetrate the atmosphere completely. Due to absorption by atmospheric nitrogen and
oxygen none of the short-wavelength, high-energy gamma rays, xrays, and short-wave-
length (up to 210 nm) ultraviolet radiation make it through. Stratospheric ozone (O
3
) elim
inates another section of the UV band, between 210 and 310 nm.
The various parts of the electromagnetic spectrum produce very different effects when
they interact with matter but they all travel at the same speed in a vacuum 299,792,456 m/sec
(speed of light). The wavelength range between about 750 to 1,000,000 nm (or 1 mm) is
called the infrared region. William Herschel discovered this part of the electromagnetic
spectrum when he placed a thermometer just outside the red end of the color spectrum. It
registered a large temperature increase. Hence, infrared radiation may be detected as heat.
The heat you feel from a fireplace, campfire, sunlight, or the ground are all sources of
infrared radiation.
Many living things emit infrared radiation. Rattlesnakes (pit-vipers) have a special pit
organ that is sensitive to infrared radiation and allows them to see minute temperature
variations in their environment. Detecting small temperature variations allows the snake to
detect its prey even in the "darkest of burrows." The radiometer is a device that was invented
by Sir William Crookes in 1875 to demonstrate the mechanical effect of light radiation. It
was later used to detect and measure the intensity of infrared radiation. The radiometer is a
partially evacuated tube which contains a structure with four vanes. Each vane has a dark
(black) and a light (silver) side. The dark side absorbs much of the infrared radiation and the
light side reflects more than it absorbs. The free molecules present in the tube gain energy
and react more with the dark side and push the dark side away from the radiation source. The
speed of rotation indicates the amount of radiation. Radiometers have been replaced by solid-
state electronic devices that measure radiant energy more accurately.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
44 Detecting Infrared Radiation Using a Prism Laboratory No. 9
44
Review Questions
1. Which regions of the electromagnetic spectrum penetrate the earths atmosphere
completely?
2. Which waves do not penetrate the earths atmosphere?
3. What do all electromagnetic waves have in common?
4. What are three ways you can detect infrared radiation?
5. How can a pit viper tell that a mouse is hiding in a very dark place?
Procedure
1. Place quartz bulb in box at one end.
2. Cut a slit approximately 5 mm x 15 mm in the opposite end of the box.
3. Place the black piece of paper 35 cm inches from bulb (this paper acts as a partition
between the bulb and the other end of the box and helps to focus the light rays). Punch a
hole at about the same level as the slit.
4. Place a parallel white piece of paper approximately 20 cm away from slit. Place prism in
front of the slit. Turn on light and move prism until a visible spectrum comes into focus.
5. Record the temperature of the following areas:
(a) Room (away from spectrum area)
(b) Visible area of spectrum (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet)
(c) The dark region just past the red.
1. Is the region beyond the red hotter or cooler than the visible area?
2. Why would the region beyond the red be hotter than other areas of the visible region?
3. What generalization(s) can you make about the region beyond the red and what evidence
can you state to support your generalization(s)?
Infrared Radiation
45
Instructors Guide to Lab Nos. 10ab:
Investigation of IR Light
Using an IR Transmitter and Receiver
and
Using a Close-Circuit TV Camera
Goal
The goal of this lab to investigate the transmission and propagation of infrared (IR) light and to
introduce the concept of lightwave communications using an IR transmitter and receiver.
Objectives
Have a feeling for the existence and use of invisible light.
Understand how a typical TV remote control works.
Understand the concept of light-wave communications.
Understand the phenomena of light-wave reflection, refraction, and absorption.
Use a prism and diffraction grating to disperse IR light in the same manner as visible light.
Infrared waves are electromagnetic waves with frequencies lower than visible light. The lowest
frequencies of visible light are red, so we call the lower frequencies infrared, meaning beyond red.
This type of electromagnetic radiation is widely used for local communications, in which the sender
and receiver are very close together, such as a VCR remote control (transmitter) with the VCR
receiver. Infrared light is sent by the VCR remote using a special electronic device called an emitting
diode, which emits light when an electric current is passed through it. Behind a window in the VCR is
a matched diode which passes current when it absorbs infrared light. The transmitter uses infrared
light to carry information by modulating the signal, usually using a series of short on/off pulses
similar to Morse code, which are received and decoded by the receiver and circuitry in the VCR.
This lab is separated into two versions, A and B. Version A lab calls for a matched IR
transmitter/Receiver pair. This setup can be built for less than $20 using parts available from
RadioShack in the circuit shown below.
1
It is a simple amplitude-modulated light wave communi-
cations system. Alternatively, just the receiving end can be built and used to listen to the signals
produced by light sources such as an IR remote control. Allowing for interchangeable photodiodes (to
switch between visible and infrared) in the circuit makes it even more versatile. Students can use it to
hear what their TV remote control is saying (a series of tones.) An incandescent lamp will produce a
hum, a fluorescent lamp a buzz, and an electronic camera flash will produce a large pop. A flashlight
beam can be swept slowly across the light listeners detector to produce a soft swishing sound, while
a fast sweep will produce pops. Tap the flashlight with a pencil and a ringing sound will be heard as
the filament vibrates. Interesting!
Version B of this lab calls for an ordinary CCD or viticon-based TV camera. The semiconductor
detector chips in some of these are very sensitive to IR. This setup is used in place of the IR
Transmitter/Receiver in the B version of this experiment. We have obtained a number of surplus
security cameras, and included one in each Resource Box. Point any type of IR-based remote control
unit at the camera and it appears as a bright source on the monitor. Also use the included IR
Flashlight (an infrared LED wired into an ordinary flashlight in place of the normal bulb) with the
Experiment
46 Instructors Guide to Labs No.s 10ab
46
included prism and/or diffraction grating to show diffraction. Use developed color film as an IR
bandpass filter to filter out excess visible. The lights can be turned out and the IR flashlight can be
used to illuminate students. Watch out, you can be observed in the darkest of nights! A lot can be
done with this set up. Be imaginative, and let us know what you come up with!
Helpful Hints
A simpler circuit
2
is shown in Figure 2. The source can be modulated by turning on/off, or a
typical TV remote control can be used.
This lab can be done using toy ray guns
3
. The Photon
ray gun, made by Entertech, or the

Bravestarr Evil Laser-Fire Backpack
by Mattel can be used.

References
1. Forest M. Mimms, Engineers Mini-Notebook: Communications Projects, pg. 28-29 (1994).
Available at RadioShack stores.
2. Forest M. Mimms, Engineers Mini-Notebook: Communications Projects, pg. 24-25, (1994).
Available at RadioShack stores.
3. R. S. Halada, "Demonstrations of Infrared Ray Optics Using Ray Guns," Physics Teacher 29, 370
(1991).
Infrared Radiation
47
Laboratory No. 10a:
Investigation of the Properties of Light
Using an IR Transmitter and Receiver
Purpose
The purpose of this lab is to investigate the transmission and propagation of light using an
infrared transmitter and receiver.
IR transmitter, IR receiver, focusing tube with lens, glass plate, clear, tinted and opaque
plastic plates, IR prism, pocket mirror, white card, and black card.
Discussion
Infrared waves are electromagnetic waves with frequencies lower than visible light. The
lowest frequencies of visible light are red, so we call the lower frequencies infrared, meaning
beyond red. This type of electromagnetic radiation is widely used for local communications,
in which the sender and receiver are very close together, such as a VCR remote control
(transmitter) with the VCR receiver. Infrared light is sent by the VCR remote using a special
electronic device called an emitting diode, which emits light when an electric current is
passed through it. Behind a window in the VCR is a matched diode which passes current
when it absorbs infrared light. The transmitter uses infrared light to carry information by
modulating the signal, usually using a series of short on/off pulses similar to Morse code,
which are received and decoded by the receiver and circuitry in the VCR.
Review Questions
2. What is a common use for Infrared waves? Can you think of another?
Procedure A: The Transmission and Reception of IR Light
1. Assemble the transmitter and receiver by hooking up the speaker to the receiver and the
radio to the transmitter.
2. Turn on the transmitter and receiver and place in front of one another so that the diodes
are in close proximity and facing each other.
3. Turn on the radio and align the diodes until you can hear the radio playing. Tune the
radio to find a strong signal from a nearby radio station.
4. Move the receiver away from the transmitter slowly and carefully. Try to keep the diodes
aligned so that the radio continues to play through the speaker.
5. Determine the maximum range of the transmitter/receiver pair by slowly moving the
receiver away until the signal breaks-up into random noise.
6. Now place the receiver at a distance from the transmitter of about one-half of the
maximum range. Carefully align the receiver to pick up the best signal.
7. Now place the glass plate between the receiver and the transmitter and note what happens
to the signal.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
48 IR Transmitter/ Receiver Laboratory No. 10a
48
8. Repeat (7) with the clear, tinted, and then opaque plastic sheets, noting what happens to
the signal in each case.
Procedure B: The Reflective, Refractive, and Transmissive Properties of Light.
1. Bring the receiver and transmitter together so that the diodes are directly facing each
other, with the transmitter in front of you and facing away. Make sure a clear signal is
being picked up by the receiver.
2. Now place the receiver at a 45 angle to the transmitter.
3. Place the prism directly in front of the transmitter diode and rotate it until the radio is
heard through the speaker, indicating a signal is being received. Note the position and
orientation of the prism.
4. Replace the prism with the pocket mirror, orienting it until a signal is picked up. Note the
position and orientation of the mirror.
5. Repeat (4) using the white card and then the black card. Note whether or not the signal is
being received, and the position and orientation of the cards.
1. Explain how the music is traveling from the transmitter to the receiver.
2. Explain the effect the prism had on the signal while in front of the transmitter. What
properties of light are being exhibited: refraction, reflection, absorption, and/or
transmission?
3. Explain the effect the mirror had on the signal while in front of the transmitter. What
properties of light are being exhibited?
4. Explain the effect the white card had on the signal while in front of the transmitter. What
5. Explain the effect the black card had on the signal while in front of the transmitter. What
properties of light are being exhibited? Where did the energy of the signal go?
Infrared Radiation
49
Laboratory No. 10b:
Using a Close-Circuit TV Camera
Purpose
The purpose of this lab is to investigate the transmission and propagation of light using an
infrared transmitter and receiver.
Closed-circuit Black and White TV camera and monitor, Source of IR light (TV remote
control transmitter and/or IR light emitting diodes (LEDs) and power supply), pieces of
developed color film.
Discussion
Infrared waves are electromagnetic waves with frequencies lower than visible light. The
lowest frequencies of visible light are red, so we call the lower frequencies infrared, meaning
beyond red. This type of electromagnetic radiation is widely used for local communications,
in which the sender and receiver are very close together, such as a VCR remote control
(transmitter) with the VCR receiver. Infrared light is sent by the VCR remote using a special
electronic device called an emitting diode, which emits light when an electric current is
passed through it. Behind a window in the VCR is a matched diode which passes current
when it absorbs infrared light. The transmitter uses infrared light to carry information by
modulating the signal, usually using a series of short on/off pulses similar to Morse code,
which are received and decoded by the receiver and circuitry in the VCR.
The rods and cones in our eyes dont respond to IR light, so we say that it is invisible.
However, the semiconductor detector chips in some types of black and white TV cameras are
sensitive to IR and so can see it. The black and white picture on the TV tube the camera
shows us, then, will show IR light. Hence, we can use the camera to image IR light from a
remote control or other device. In fact, a high-power IR lamp can be used to illuminate a
large area at a distance, without us humans even knowing it. The TV camera, though, and the
person viewing through it, can see us. Watch out, you can be observed in the darkest of
nights by invisible IR light beams!
Review Questions
2. What is a common use for Infrared waves? Can you think of another?
3. Why does IR light show up on the monitor of a black and white TV camera?
Procedure A: The Transmission and Reception of IR Light
1. Connect the TV camera and monitor together, and focus the camera on an object several
meters away or so.
2. Standing several meters away, aim and shoot the remote control at the TV camera and
observe what happens on the monitor.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
50 IR Light Viewed Using a TV Camera Laboratory No. 10b
50
3. Have a partner hold some developed color film in front of the camera while you shoot the
remote. Observe changes in the background light and that from the remote.
4. Have a partner hold a piece of developed color film in front of the camera while you
shoot the remote. Observe changes in the background light and that from the remote.
5. Turn out the lights and watch the TV monitor while you shoot the remote. Observe
changes in the background light and that from the remote.
Procedure B: The Reflective, Refractive, and Transmissive Properties of Light.
1. Bring the camera and IR light source (either an IR LED or a TV remote control) together
so that the diode is directly shining into the camera. Make sure a clear image is being
picked up by the camera and displayed on the monitor.
2. Now place the transmitter at a 45 angle to the camera
3. Place the prism directly in front of the transmitter diode and rotate it until the image of
the diode is seen on monitor. Note the position and orientation of the prism.
4. Replace the prism with the pocket mirror, orienting it until a signal is picked up. Note the
position and orientation of the mirror.
5. Repeat (4) using the white card and then the black card. Note whether or not the signal is
being received, and the position and orientation of the cards.
6. Align the transmitter diode and camera so a clear image of the diode is seen. Place a
diffraction grating in front of the camera lens. Note any changes in the image this is the
first-order image of the diode. Now move the transmitter along a line perpendicular to the
camera, keeping the diode pointed at the camera lens/grating. Stop when you see the first-
order image.
7. Your teacher may want you to measure the wavelength of the IR light emitted by the
diode. This can be done by measuring the distances involved. Can you figure out how?
Recall earlier labs in which you measured the wavelengths of various colors of visible
light using a diffraction grating.
1. How is the image of the IR LED being generated on the TV monitor?
2. Explain the effect the prism had on the signal while in front of the IR diode (transmitter).
What properties of light are being exhibited: refraction, reflection, absorption, and/or
transmission?
3. Explain the effect the mirror had on the signal while in front of the IR transmitter. What
4. Explain the effect the white card had on the signal while in front of the IR transmitter.
What properties of light are being exhibited?
5. Explain the effect the black card had on the signal while in front of the IR transmitter.
What properties of light are being exhibited? Where did the energy of the signal go?
6. Optional: Determine the wavelength of the IR light from the source you used.
Ultra-Violet Light
51
Fluorescence
Goal
To investigate the phenomena known as fluorescence and phosphorescence.
Objectives
After doing this lab or observing this demonstration students will be able to:
Understand what causes fluorescence.
Understand how fluorescence can be used.
Understand what causes phosphorescence .
How to detect ultraviolet light using fluorescent material
When an atom is excited from one energy state to a
higher stage by the absorption of a photon, it may return
to the lower level in a series of two (or more) jumps if
there is an energy level in between. The photons emitted
will consequently have lower energy and frequency
than the absorbed photon. This phenomenon is called
fluorescence; common fluorescent rocks and paints can
emit visible light after absorbing UV light.
Fluoresence is responsible for the appearance of objects under the so-called black light, which
is a source of ultraviolet radiation. Photons in the ultraviolet region, invisible to the human eye, have
higher energies than those in the visible region, and hence if an ultraviolet photon is absorbed by an
atom, the outer electron (which is responsible for the visible transitions) can be excited to high levels.
These electrons make transitions back to their ground state, accompanied by the emission of photons
in the visible region.
Objects seen in ultraviolet light often show colors in the blue or violet end of the spectrum which
are not present when the objects are viewed in sunlight; common fluorescent rocks and paints can
emit visible light after absorbing invisible UV light. We can understand this effect by considering the
composition of sunlight and the optical excited states of a typical atom. The intensity of sunlight is
concentrated in the center of the visible spectrum in the yellow region; very little intensity is present
in the red or blue ends of the visible spectrum. The yellow photons have enough energy to excite an
atom up to its lower levels, but not enough to reach the higher levels. However, the higher-energy UV
photons do have sufficient energy to reach the higher level, so the light emitted by the atom has a
stronger blue component when that atom is excited by ultraviolet light than when excited by sunlight.
The wavelength for which fluorescence will occur depends on the energy levels of the particular
atoms. Because the frequencies are different for different substances, and because many substances
fluoresce readily, fluorescence is a powerful tool for identification of compounds. It is also used for
assaying determining how much of a substance is presentand for following substances along a
natural pathway as in plants and animals. For detection of a given compound, the stimulation light
must be monochromatic, and solvents or other materials present must not fluoresce in the same region
of the spectrum. Often the observation of fluorescent light being emitted is sufficient; in other cases,
spectrometers are used to measure the wavelengths and intensities of the light.
Fluorescent light bulbs work in a two-step process. The applied voltage accelerates electrons that
strike atoms of the gas in the tube and cause them to be excited. When the excited atoms jump down
to their normal levels, they emit UV photons which strike a fluorescent coating (called a phosphor) on
Activity
One
photon
absorbed
Two
photons
emitted
E
o
E
1
E
2
52
the inside of the tube. The light we see is a result of this material fluorescing in response to the UV
light striking it.
Materials such as those used for luminous watch dials are said to be phosphorescent. In a phos-
phorescent substance, atoms can be excited by absorption of a photon to an energy level said to be
metastable. When an atom is raised to a normal excited state, it drops back down within about
10
-8
sec. Metastable states can be much longer even a few seconds or longer. In a collection of such
atoms, many of the atoms will descend to the lower state fairly soon, but many will remain in the
excited state for over an hour. Hence, light will be emitted even after long periods. When you put a
watch dial close to a bright lamp, it excites many atoms to metastable states, and you can see the glow
a long time after.
Helpful Hints
The optional UV viewer described in the lab requires a UV bandpass filter. We have built one of
these for each Resource Box using a PVC pipe fitting. Use the invisible ink to make the
detector screen.
References
Tom Donohue and Howard Wallace, "Ultraviolet Viewer," Physics Teacher 31, 41 (1993).
Ultra-Violet Light
53
Laboratory No. 11:
Fluorescence
Purpose
To investigate the properties of UV light using the process of fluorescence.
Long-wave ultraviolet lamp (black light), short-wave UV lamp, fluorescent mineral set, invisible ink,
fluorescent crayons, UV detector cards, (optional: UV bandpass filter, tube to make UV viewer.)
Discussion
We have learned that atoms can become excited by absorbing light, and also de-excited by
emitting light. The atoms of each element have a unique set of wavelengths for the absorption and
emission of light, depending on the different possible energy states the atom possess. Many atoms can
absorb invisible light such as ultraviolet and then spontaneously emit less energetic visible light. This
way of giving off light is called fluorescence, and is responsible for the appearance of objects under
so-called black light, which is a source of ultraviolet radiation. Objects seen in ultraviolet light
often show colors in the blue or violet end of the spectrum that are not present when the objects are
viewed in sunlight. Common fluorescent rocks and paints can emit visible light after absorbing
invisible UV light.
We can use fluorescent materials to test for the presence of invisible ultraviolet radiation by
putting an object under a special light filter that blocks out all light except UV. If the material
fluoresces, then there is UV present. If it is dark, then there is no UV.
A familiar example of fluorescence is the common fluorescent lamp you might be sitting under
right now. In a fluorescent lamp, oscillating electrons excite atoms of mercury gas, which then give
off photons of intense and invisible ultraviolet light. The inside surface of the lamp is covered with a
powdery fluorescent material called a phosphor, and this material first absorbs the ultraviolet photons
and then emits photons of visible light. The excited atoms in the phosphor take several steps, or
transitions, to return to their original energy (ground) state. Each step results in the emission of less
energetic photons that have frequencies in the range of visible light, which combine to produce white-
looking light. Different phosphors can be used to produce different colors of light.
Because the fluorescence frequencies are different for different substances, fluorescence is a
powerful tool for identification of rocks, minerals, and other compounds. It is also used for assaying
determining how much of a substance is present and for following substances along a natural
pathway as in plants and animals.
Some materials have excited states which are metastable, where the transition to a lower energy
state is not spontaneous and takes more time. Materials that exhibit this peculiar property are said to
have phosphorescence. The element phosphorus, which is used in luminous clock dials and in other
objects that are made to glow in the dark, is a good example. Atoms or molecules in these materials
are excited by incident visible light. Rather than de-exciting immediately, as fluorescent materials do,
many of the atoms remain in a state of excitement, sometimes for as long as several hours although
most undergo de-excitation rather quickly. If the source of excitation is removed for example if the
lights are put out an afterglow occurs while millions of atoms spontaneously undergo gradual de-
excitation.
Activity
Name: Class: Date:
54
Fluorescence Laboratory No. 11
54
A TV screen is slightly phosphorescent, the glow decays rather quickly, but just slowly enough so
that successive scans of the picture blend into one another. The afterglow of some phosphorescent
light switches in the home may last more than an hour. The same is true for luminous clock dials,
excited by visible light. Some older clock dials glow indefinitely in the dark, not because of a long
time delay between excitation and de-excitation, but because they contain radium or some other
radioactive material which continuously supplies energy to keep the excitation process going. Such
dials are no longer common because of the potential harm of the radioactive material to the user.
Examples of phosphorescence are found in living creatures from bacteria to fireflies and large
animals like jellyfish. These creatures chemically excite molecules in their bodies that give off light, a
process we call bioluminescence. The firefly uses a chemical reaction to emit light so it can be seen.
However, certain squid emit visible light to become invisible! To fool predators below, these squid
use light as camouflage by carefully regulating their brightness to match the intensity of the sunlight
at their depth. Under some circumstances certain fish become luminescent when they swim, but
remain dark when still. Schools of these fish hang motionless and are not seen, but when alarmed they
streak away with a sudden burst of light, creating a sort of deep sea fireworks. The mechanism of
bioluminescence is not yet well understood and needs to be carefully investigated, perhaps by future
scientists such as yourselves.
Review Questions
1. What kind of light is sometimes called black light?
2. What causes materials to be fluorescent?
3. What is a common example of fluorescence?
4. What is the main difference between fluorescence and phosphorescence?
5. What is an example of bioluminescence?
Procedure
1. Draw a picture using the special fluorescent crayons provided in the kit. Take some time to draw
a decent picture.
1. Set up the black light contained in the kit. Also set up the UV lamp, BUT DO NOT TURN IT
ON.
3. Using the invisible ink, write something witty on the cardboard screen that will be inserted into
the detector. Place the screen into the detector.
4 Try and detect the presence of UV light at different places in the classroom. If you can, take the
detector outside into sunlight and record any changes in the image. Try and detect UV with the
UV detector card. Record your observations.
5. Turn on the black light lamp. Use the UV detector to try and detect the presence of ultraviolet
light. Try and detect UV with the UV detector card. Record your observations.
6. Place each of the various minerals contained in the kit under the black-light lamp. Record what
you see. Note which minerals respond, and with what colors.
7. Place your picture under the lamp and observe the changes in the colors.
8. Put on your UV-goggles, and turn on the UV lamp. Leave the black light turned on. Use the UV
detector and record any differences you can observe.
9. Record any changes you can observe in the minerals and your artwork. Note which minerals
respond, and with what colors.
10. Now turn off the black light and observe and record any changes in the fluorescence of the
minerals, your artwork, and the UV detector.
11. Turn off the UV lamp. Remove goggles.
Ultra-Violet Light
55
Instructors Guide to Labs No. 12 & 13
UV Light Detection
and
Absorption of UV Light by Oxygen
Goal
To test various types of plastic and glass for UV transmittance, and to investigate the
absorption of UV light by oxygen.
Objectives
After completing these two labs students will be able to:
Determine which brand of sunglasses block UV light most effectively.
Determine which types of plastic and glass allow UV transmittance.
Discuss the formation and destruction of ozone.
Be able to work with UV light safely.
Determine what happens to the transmittance of UV as the concentration of oxygen
increases.
For certain applications it is necessary to know how well various materials transmit or
block UV light. Sunglasses are a good example. See the discussion section in the student
handouts for more information.
Cautions
Students working with the UVA and UVB lamps must wear goggles at all times since
UV light can damage the retina.
The resin must be poured and kept in a well-ventilated area during the entire experiment.
Helpful Hints Gas absorption apparatus
Make sure the hose and stopper fit gas tight.
Make sure the flask is cleaned out well in between uses.
The UV light should be 10 cm above the gas testing device. It can be hooked to a ring-
stand for convenience.
Extensions
Other gases besides oxygen can be tested with the gas absorption apparatus.
Experiment
56 Instructors Guide to Lab Nos. 12 & 13
56
Ultra-Violet Light
57
Laboratory No. 12:
UV Light Detection
Purpose
To test various types of plastic and glass for UV transmittance.
Some type of UV light detector, UV filter, UV light, five types of clear plastic, five types of
clear glass, one pair of sunglasses brought by each student, five clear plastic or glass items
from the classroom, ring stand, two clamps, goggles.
Caution: Always wear plastic goggles when working with UV light since UV cannot pass
through plastic.
Discussion
Some types of glass and plastic will stop ultraviolet (UV) light while others are
transparent to it. This lab will explore the degree to which types of glass, plastic, and
sunglasses are opaque or transparent to UV
light.
Procedure
1. Hang the UV light on the ring stand so
that it is 15 cm above the surface of the
table.
2. Place the clamp to hold the material
samples 3 cm below the UV light
source.
3. Place the first type of plastic into the
clamp.
4. Place the UV light detector directly
underneath the sample to be tested.
5. Put on goggles and then turn on the UV
light source.
6. Record the type of plastic and the
transmittance in a table.
7. Repeat for the four remaining types of
plastic, five types of glass, each type of
sunglasses, the UV filter, and the five
assorted lab items.
1. Make a bar graph showing the type of material versus the transmittance.
2. Which type of plastic was best? Worst?
3. Which type of glass was best? Worst?
4. Rank order the sunglasses by brand from best to worst for UV protection.
5. Can you say how the absorption characteristics of each material are related to the
transmittance values recorded?
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
UV Light Source
Sample (glass or plastic)
UV Light Detector
Figure 1 The UV light testing apparatus.
58 UV Light Detection Laboratory No. 12
58
Ultra-Violet Light
59
Laboratory No. 13:
Investigating the Absorption
of UV Light by Oxygen
Purpose
To investigate the absorption of UV light by Oxygen.
Gas testing apparatus, Liquid Crystal UV light detector, UV light, rubber tubing, rubber
stopper, 250 ml Erlenmeyer flask, manganese dioxide, hydrogen peroxide (3%), mass
balance, goggles.
through plastic.
Discussion
The earth is surrounded by a thin layer of ozone gas present in the stratosphere which
absorbs almost all of the incoming UV light from the sun. Without this shield, life on this
planet would have evolved very differently.
Ozone (O
3
) is produced when atmospheric oxygen (O
2
) is dissociated by UV radiation
into two individual oxygen atoms, and one of these atoms combines with O
2
, forming O
3
.
O UV Radiation O O
O O Mediator O Mediator
2
2 3
+ +
+ + +
Ozone itself can then be dissociated by UV light into O
2
and O. The amount of ozone in the
earths atmosphere is about 3 billion tons. Despite this high number, if this amount of ozone
were moved to the earths surface, it would form a layer only 3 mm thick. It exists in the
atmosphere in a concentration of only about twenty to thirty parts per million.
The destruction of the earths ozone layer is a major environmental concern. Many
chemicals used by industries and consumers actively destroy ozone. These chemicals include
chloro-fluorocarbons used to produce some types of styrofoam, freon used in refrigeration
and air-conditioning units, and spray cans that contain fluorocarbons. A large effort is being
undertaken by environmentalists and chemists together to find and use alternatives to these
destructive products.
Ironically, ozone itself is produced artificially at the earths surface by industrial
processes and the combustion of fossil fuels, and is a serious pollution problem for major
cities like Los Angeles. Ozone is a noxious pollutant which can hurt eyes, plants, and destroy
rubber products.
Review Questions
1. Where is most of the earths ozone concentrated?
2. What is the chemical formula of ozone gas?
3. Write the chemical equations which describe how ozone is produced, then destroyed.
4. How much ozone is there in the atmosphere?
5. What is the concentration of ozone in the atmosphere?
6. How can ozone also be a pollutant?
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
60 Investigating the Absoption of UV Light by Oxygen Laboratory No. 13
60
Procedure
1. Set up the gas testing apparatus and ring
stand assembly as shown in Figure 1.
Place the liquid crystal UV detector
directly underneath the gas testing device.
Do not leave any air space between the
detector and the gas testing device: the
figure shown is an exploded view for
clarity
2. Put the rubber hosing onto the device and
the stopper into the flask
3. Place the UV light 3 cm above the gas
testing device.
4. Put on the goggles and turn on the UV
light.
5. Record the transmittance on the UV
detector for the atmosphere, then turn out
the UV light.
6. Remove the stopper from the flask.
7. Measure out 0.1 g of manganese dioxide and place it in the flask.
8. Add 20 ml of hydrogen peroxide and quickly stopper the flask.
9. Wait until the reaction in the flask has stopped.
10. Turn on the UV light, record the transmittance, then turn out the UV light.
11. Clean out the flask and the gas testing device, and then repeat steps 5 through 9 with
30 ml and 50 ml of hydrogen peroxide mixed with 0.1 g of manganese dioxide each
time.
12. Record the UV transmittance after each trial.
1. Make a graph indicating the amount of manganese dioxide used (an indication of the
amount of oxygen produced) versus UV transmittance.
2. What happened to the UV transmittance as the amount of oxygen increased? Why?
UV Light Source
Gas Testing Device
Flask
UV Light Detector
Figure 1
Ultra-Violet Light
61
The Effect of UV Light on Yeast
Goal
The goal of this lab is to introduce students to the effects of UV light on a test organism (the
yeast.)
Objectives
After completing this lab, students will be able to:
Explain the effect of UV light on yeast growth.
Analyze colony growth on agar plates.
Describe where UV light fits into the overall Electromagnetic Spectrum.
Explain why UV light has a deleterious effect on yeast growth.
Demonstrate sterile technique for growing yeasts.
Calculate dilutions for yeast growth.
Accurately graph yeast growth versus exposure time.
Found in student handout.
Helpful Hints
UV light sensitive yeast can be purchased from large scientific supply houses.
Use a germicidal UV lamp if possible. (This is supplied in the Resource Box.)
Make sure students swirl or vortex mix the yeast suspensions and dilution tubes
thoroughly each time.
Making the nutrient agar plates:
(a) Make 10 nutrient agar plates per group.
(b) Mix nutrient agar with deionized water according to directions on the label of the
nutrient agar jar.
(c) Sterilize at 20 lbs of pressure for 20 minutes.
Starting the yeast culture: Each group will need one experimental and one control
sample of yeast.
(a) Make 0.1 molar sucrose and pour 15 ml into two test tubes for each group.
(b) On the day before the lab, sterilly add the UV sensitive yeast to the test tubes. Let
them grow overnight.
(c) On the day of the lab, sterilly pour the yeast suspension into two sterile petri dishes,
one marked Experimental and the other Control.
Plating the yeast cells:
(a) Students dip glass spreader into alcohol and immediately place it into the Bunsen
burner flame. Let the flame go out.
(b) Open the lid of the agar plate slightly and gently rub it across the agar 3-4 times to
cool it down. Be careful, the agar can tear!!
Experiment
62
Instructors Guide to Lab No. 14
62
(c) Remove 100 l (0.1 ml) from the yeast tube, carefully lift the cover of the agar plate
just a crack, and inject the yeast onto the agar.
(d) Immediately turn the spreading dish wheel and move the glass spreader back and
forth 56 times along it to spread the yeast evenly onto the nutrient agar.
(e) Close the plate cover.
Store the completed plates up side down at 37 C for 12 days in an incubator.
Make sure students do not open the petri dishes when counting the colonies.
Analyzing the results: Theoretically, students will see a dose response to increasing time
exposure to UV light. As the length of UV exposure time increases, fewer and fewer
yeast cells will be observed.
Extensions
Mix so called antioxidant compounds in with the yeast to see if survivability is increased
over a control.
Place UV filters (even sunglasses) above the yeast to test for the protective effects.
Ultra-Violet Light
63
Laboratory No. 14:
The Effect of UV Light on Yeast
Purpose
To determine the effects of UV light on yeast growth.
Two yeast cultures in petri dishes, UV lamp, petri dish, incubator; Per group: goggles, 10
nutrient agar petri dishes, glass spreader, plating wheel, Bunsen burner, striker, pipetter (or
plastic pipette), sterile cover dish. Optional: vortex mixer, plating wheel.
through plastic. Sterile technique must be used throughout the lab to ensure proper results.
Discussion
Ultraviolet (UV) light has a wavelength range of 5 to 400 nanometers (1 nm = 10
-9
m)
placing it between visible light and xrays on the electromagnetic spectrum (Figure 1). It has
a shorter wavelength and therefore more energy than visible light.
UV at a wavelength between 29 and 31 nm causes melanin production in skin cells of
human beings, which causes fairskinned persons to tan. This same wavelength is necessary
for vitamin D production in human beings. Since UV is a type of ionizing radiation it can
damage cells. Overexposure to UV in sunlight can cause sunburns which could lead to skin
cancer. Only about 1% of the UV from the sun is able to penetrate the earth's atmosphere.
Directly looking at UV light can damage the retina of the eye.
Certain insects have eyes which see in UV light. Since some flowers show very
distinctive and different coloration in UV light compared to visible light, this allows insects
such as bees to distinguish easily among flowers which look very similar in visible light.
Some wavelengths of UV light kill cells and are used to sterilize medical instruments.
Radio Microwave Infrared Visible Ultra-violet X-Ray Gamma Ray
<.01 nm .1 nm 1 nm 10 nm 100 nm 1 mm 10 mm .1 mm 1 mm >1 mm
Red Orange Yellow Green Blue Violet
Shorter Wavelengths = Higher Energy
Longer Wavelengths = Lower Energy
Figure 1
Review Questions
1. Where is UV light found in the Electromagnetic Spectrum?
2. What is its wavelength range?
3. Is UV more or less energetic than visible light? Why?
4. Which wavelength causes suntans and sunburns?
5. What can these lead to?
6. How much of the UV from the sun penetrates the Earth's atmosphere?
7. Which kind of animal can see in UV light?
8. Why can UV light be used to sterilize medical instruments?
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
64 The Effect of UV Light on Yeast Laboratory No. 14
64
Control Experimement
Figure 2
Procedure Day 1
1. Raise the sterile cover and remove 0.1 ml of yeast from the experimental culture and
0.1 ml from the control culture in separate pipetters.
2. Plate six nutrient agar petri dishes with the experimental culture and six nutrient agar
petri dishes with the control culture. Label each experimental petri dish as E1 through E4,
and the control dish as Control.
3. Setup the UV light at a distance of 8 cm above where the petri dish will be placed (see
Figure 2).
4. Place the control dish in the compartment seperated from the UV lamp.
5. Tun on the UV lamp.
6. Place the first experimental petri dish (E1) under the UV lamp for 15 seconds and then
quickly remove. Be sure to time the exposure accurately.
7. Repeat step 5 using dishes E2 through E4 for 30, 45, and 60 seconds, respectively.
8. Cover the petri dishes and set aside in a place where they wont be disturbed for two
days.
Day 3
9. After waiting two days, count the number of yeast colonies on each. Note: do not open
the petri dishes.
10. Make a graph of Exposure Time versus Yeast Colonies. Plot the control and experimental
numbers on the same graph.
1. What is the fraction of yeast in the final nutrient agar petri dish?
2. What was the reason for the control?
3. What was the effect of UV light on the yeast? Why?
Ultra-Violet Light
65
Effect of UV Light on DNA
Goal
To determine the effects of UV light on DNA.
Objectives
Discuss the three forms of DNA which result from UV damage.
Make, load, and run a gel with DNA.
Calculate the quantitative degree of DNA damage which results from exposure to UV
light.
Being able to accurately quantify DNA strand breaks in an isolated system is a fairly new
technique. The quantification of these breaks can be achieved by using plasmid DNA,
electrophoresis, and measuring the square area of the bands produced.
When a DNA system is exposed to ionizing radiation, there are two potentially damaging
forces, one direct and the other indirect. The direct source of damage is due to physical
deposition of energy that disrupts atomic structure, actually ionizing the DNA. The indirect
means of radiation damage is due to free radical formation. The indirect means of radiation
damage is due to free radical formation. It is this indirect means of damage (i.e., radical
formation) that will be measured in this system.
Electrons located in shells surrounding the nuclei can absorb radiation and move to shells
of higher energy levels. If the energy absorbed is great enough, the electron will escape its
atom or molecule, resulting in a free electron and an atom or molecule which is missing an
electron. These electron-deficient species, also called free radicals, are highly unstable and
will rapidly react with the surrounding environment.
One of the most important radicals is the hydroxyl radical (OH
-
) not only because it is
one of the most reactive species, but also due to its relative abundance. The hydroxyl radical
is generated with radiation by the hydrolysis of water. The OH
-
is a common radical linked
with genetic mutation, aging, and DNA strand breakage.
When a hydroxyl radical reacts with DNA, a strand break can occur. This happens
because a hydrogen atom is ripped off of the deoxyribose sugar of the DNA, thereby
quenching the OH
-
into H
2
0. However, the resulting free electron, through an unknown
mechanism, will break the strand. If only one strand break occurs on the supercoiled DNA,
an open circular form will be assumed. Similarly, if two strand breaks occur in close enough
proximity, the DNA will assume a linear form.
Cautions
Experiment
66 Instructors Guide to Labs No. 15
66
Helpful Hints
Agarose Gels: (1) Make 1% agarose gels by mixing 1 part agarose to 99 parts 1X-TBE
solution. (2) Make enough to cast the appropriate number of gels for your class.
TBE running buffer: (1) can be purchased commercially in 50X or 20X stock solutions.
(2) Be sure to dilute to appropriate strength before using.
Plasmid DNA: pUC plasmid can be purchased from commercial scientific supply
houses. Make sure it is as near to 100% supercoiled as possible!! This will greatly
enhance results!!!
Loading Dye: Can be purchased from scientific supply houses.
Make sure the DNA is kept on ice at all times. Ice under the UV lamp will melt and will
need constant re-supply.
Analysis of Results
The gels can be stained with ethidium bromide and visualized with UV light or
methylene blue and visualized with white light.
The band migrating the furthest will be supercoiled followed by a middle band of open
circles, and if enough UV is given, a third band of linear.
Extensions
Substances known to be free radical scavengers (i.e., vitamins) can be tested in this
system. A free radical scavenger is a molecular species which reacts with free radicals to
transform them into either a non-radical species, or a more stable radical. The scavengers
usually do this by donating an electron to the free radical, thus stabilizing it.
Ultra-Violet Light
67
Laboratory No. 15:
The Effect of UV Light on DNA
Purpose
To determine the effects of UV light on DNA.
TBE (Tris-borate-EDTA) running buffer, gel box, agarose, power supply, plasmid DNA
(pUC18 or BR322), pipette, loading dye (BTB and xylene cyanol), stain (methylene blue,
ethidium bromide, or a proprietary DNA stain), UV light, 1.5 ml microfuge tubes, ruler,
poloroid camera, goggles, light box.
through plastic. Sterile technique must be used throughout the lab to ensure proper results.
Supercoiled DNA Single Strand Break- Open Circle Double Strand Break - Linear/Twisted
Discussion
Ultraviolet (UV) light is a type of
ionizing radiation which can damage
DNA. When UV light strikes DNA,
it can cut one or two strands, leaving
two types of breaks in the DNA.
This breakage is particularly ap-
parent when using plasmid DNA,
since it is in the form of a circle. If
one strand of the plasmid DNA is
struck by UV light, an open circle
results. If both strands of the DNA
are cut, a linear form of DNA results. The uncut DNA remains in the supercoiled form, as
illustrated in Figure 1 above. When run on a gel, the results look like Figure 2 at right.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
Figure 1 Illustrations of uncut and cut DNA.
Open Circle Linear
Uncut
Supercoiled
DNA
Origin
Direction of Movement
Voltage Variation
Figure 2 The uncut DNA moves most quickly
through the DNA, followed by the linear circle and
linear species.
68 The Effect of UV Light on DNA Laboratory No. 15
68
Review Questions
1. What kind of radiation is UV light?
2. Why is plasmid DNA used to study the
effects of UV light on DNA?
3. If DNA remains uncut, what form results?
4. If one strand of DNA is cut, which form
results?
5. If two strands of DNA are cut, which form
results?
6. Draw a gel and place the 3 forms in order
on the gel.
Procedure - Day 1
1. Cast 1% agarose gels and place them in
the gel boxes.
2. Pour TBE buffer until the level just
immerses the gels.
3. Remove 5l from the UV tube , add 1 l
of loading dye, and place the sample in
well 1 on the gel for UV light. Repeat this
procedure for the control group.
4. Place the open 1.5 ml tube 8 cm below
the UV light and position it. Put on goggles and then turn the lamp on.
5. After 10 minutes, remove another 5 l sample, add 1 l of loading dye, and place it in
well 2 on the gel. Repeat this procedure for the control group.
6. Continue taking 5 l samples, adding loading dye, at 10 minute intervals up to
50 minutes for both the UV experimental sample and the control sample.
7. After the last sample has been taken, seal the gel boxes, and turn the power supply to
22 volts.
8. Let the gels run for 1213 hours.
Procedure Day 2
9. Stain the gels with either ethidium bromide or methylene blue, or other DNA stain.
10. Take a picture of the gel.
11. Enlarge the picture on a copy machine 200%.
12. Measure the square area of each band and record it.
1. Find the square area of linear, open circle, and supercoiled (uncut) DNA in each band.
2. What happens to the percentage of supercoiled DNA as the time of UV irradiation
increases?
3. What happens to the percentage of linear and open circle DNA as the time of UV
irradiation increases? Why?
UV Light
Ice
12 cm.
Figure 3
Ultra-Violet Light
69
Which Wavelength Causes Photogray
Lenses to Change Color?
Goal
To determine which wavelength (color) of light causes photogray lenses to change color.
Objectives
Explain which wavelength causes Photogray glasses to turn dark.
Photogray lenses absorb UV light which causes them to change to a darker color, providing
an automatic sunglass effect.
Helpful Hints
This activity can be done as either a demonstration in front of class or as one lab station
among several.
Make sure the lenses have been kept in the dark before the lab/demonstration to ensure
that they are clear.
The darkening reaction in the lenses should begin quickly after exposure to UV light.
Extensions
Using a Photodetector measure the light absorbed by the photogray lenses when clear and
when dark. Determine absorbtion characteristics of the lenses.
Experiment
70
Ultra-Violet Light
71
Laboratrory No. 16:
Which Wavelength Causes Photogray
Lenses to Change Color?
Purpose
To determine which wavelength (color) of light causes photogray lenses to change color.
2 photogray lenses; UVA, UVB lamps; IR lamp; red, orange, yellow, green, blue, violet
filters; lamps for the filters; clay or other stand for the lenses, opaque box with side cut out to
hold lens.
through plastic.
Discussion
Photogray lenses contain a substance which causes them to turn darker when exposed to
sunlight, and clear again when the sunlight is gone. Sunlight consists of many different
wavelengths of light (color), one or several of which could cause the photogray lenses to turn
dark.
Hypothesis
1. Which wavelength of of light do you
suspect will have the greatest effect on the
photogray lenses? Why?
Procedure
1. Set up the photogray lenses on its stand
and place it in a box with the open side
pointed in (see Figure 1).
2. Place the filtered lamp in between the
lenses pointed away from each other.
3. Position the lamp 25 cm from the lens and
turn it on.
4. Wait 30 seconds to see if there is a reaction.
5. Continue using all of the lamps until a reaction is seen.
1. Which wavelength of light turned the lenses gray?
2. What kind of chemical reaction is occuring in the glass?
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
Photogray Lens
Filter
Filtered Light Source
UV,IR Lamps
25cm.
Figure 1
72 Photogray Lenses Laboratory No. 16
72
Ultra-Violet Light
73
Which Wavelength Causes
Sunrez
to Solidify?
Goal
To introduce students to a light-dependent chemical reaction.
Objectives
Determine which frequency in the electromagnetic spectrum causes Sunrez to solidify.
Graph the results accurately.
Explain why goggles must be worn around UV light.
Distinguish between the wavelengths associated with UV, IR, and visible light.
Sunrez
is an unsaturated polysester resin with a boiling point of 294F and a flashpoint of

70-80F. It is a photocuring resin which will only soldify with exposure to a photo initiator
such as UVA. It reacts just beyond the visible range at 380410 nanometers. This resin may
absorb other frequencies but primarily cures best in the UVA range.
Cautions
The resin must be poured and kept in a well-ventilated area during the entire experiment.
Helpful Hints
Sunrez
or a similar photo-curing adhesive resin can be obtained at auto windshield

repair shops.
Analysis of Results
Students should find that only in UVA and somewhat in UVB will the resin harden. It will
become viscous in the other frequencies, and even in the dark, but only in UVA/B will it
solidify. If direct sunlight is used as a positive control, it will of course harden. This should
become apparent to the students as the force to pull the popsicle stick increases in UVA/B
and remains low and constant in the other wavelengths.
Experiment
74
Ultra-Violet Light
75
Laboratory No. 17:
Which Wavelength Causes
Sunrez
to Solidify?
Purpose
The purpose of this lab is to determine which wavelength of light causes Sunrez to turn from
a liquid to a solid.
Sunrez
or similar photo-curing adhesive resin, UVA lamp, UVB lamp, infrared lamp; red,
orange, yellow, green,blue, violet filters; dark area, lamps for each color, goggles, 10 small
plastic drinking cups, spring scales, popsicle stick. Direct sunlight can be used as a positive
control if it is sunny on the day of the experiment. Simply add one more group and one more
small plastic drinking cup/ popsicle.
Caution: Always wear plastic goggles when working with UV light. Sunrez is caustic; avoid
contact with skin and eyes.
Discussion
Certain types of adhesives and resins such as Sunrez
turn from liquid to solid in the presence

of certain wavelengths of light. This process is called photocuring and is typically used to
join optical components. As such, it is considered a photocuring resin. Sunrez
is used to
repair car windshields.
The sun emits energy at many different wavelengths, including infrared, visible, and
ultraviolet.
Review Questions
1. What kind of resin is Sunrez
?
Procedure
1. The class will be divided into 10
groups, one for each wavelength
of light and one control group
(dark).
2. Coat the inside of the cup with
vaseline.
3. Pour 2 cm of resin into your
group's cup and place a popsicle
stick into the middle.
4. Attach a spring scale sideways
to the popsicle stick and pull.
Record the grams of resistance
for your color.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
Light Source -
UV, IR
Filter
Spring Scale
Resin
Figure 1
76 Which Wavelength Causes Sunrez to Solidify? Laboratory No. 17
76
Procedure (continued)
5. Place your sample under your lamp so the surface of the resin is 15 cm away from the
lamp. Turn the lamp on.
6. Every 2 minutes reattach the spring scale and pull to determine the grams of resistance.
7. Continue taking readings every 2 minutes for 30 minutes.
8. Record your data on the board, and copy the entire data table.
9. Graph the change in viscosity (grams of resistance) for each wavelength (color) vs. time
on a graph.
Analysis
1. Which wavelength(s) worked best to solidify Sunrez?
2. How do you know?
Radio Waves
77
Instructors Guide to Lab Nos. 18-23:
Radio and Microwave Experiments
Goal
To familiarize students with radio-frequency electromagnetic waves.
Objectives
After doing these radio/microwave activities the student should:
Understand the fact that light, radio, television, and other forms of electromagnetic waves
are really only one phenomenon.
Be able to calculate the wavelength of electromagnetic waves given the frequency or
calculate the frequency given the wavelength.
Better understand how a diffraction grating works by adding waves that are in phase and
producing strong signals in certain directions.
Be able to estimate the wavelength of electromagnetic waves being used in a certain
application just by looking at the sizes of the structures involved.
Have an idea that generation of electromagnetic waves by acceleration of charged
particles, usually electrons, and detection of these waves by their effect on free electrons
as the wave passes are just reciprocal processes. Appreciate that an electric field, whether
produced by a battery connected to a wire or a traveling electromagnetic wave, will
accelerate charges such as electrons.
A full description of each Radio Science lab is presented in the Student Activity sheets.
Many of these lab activities are intended as home projects, such as Lab No. 20 which
requires that the student tune in an AM radio signal at night in order to detect changes in the
Earths ionosphere between day and night.
Helpful Hints
The Resource Box contains four crystal-radio kits for students to build for Lab No. 19.
The crystal radio consists of a simple resonant circuit that can be tuned to AM radio-
frequencies to detect radio waves with an antenna consisting of a long wire.
You may want to get a cheap amplified-speaker setup that can used to amplify a crystal
radio for the entire class to hear. These can be obtained for about $10 at computer stores.
Crystal radio kits can be obtained through science education suppliers such as Frey or
Cenco. A crystal-type radio can be built from common electronic components by
wrapping your own tuning coils using copper wire around an ordinary 35 mm film
canister. See Figure 1 below for details.
An inexpensive AM/FM radio is included in the Resource Box. This radio can be used as
the signal detector in the radio-wave diffraction experiment (Lab No. 22). It is important
that the radio detector does not have Automatic Gain Control (AGC). This is a special
circuit that even many inexpensive radios have to compensate for varying receiving
signal strengths. Since the experiment requires that students detect differences in signal
intensity (strength), the AGC circuit will offset this effect and ruin the experiment. We
have found RadioShack #12-734 to work well for this.
Experiment
78 Instructors Guide to Lab Nos. 18-23
78
Some wire-mesh screening is included in the RB to make a Farady-cage. Form this into
box-like cage and place the radio in it to demonstrate the shielding of electromagnetic
waves.
We have put together ONE Microwave Transmitter/Receiver apparatus so far. This
apparatus will be loaned out to one Resource Box unit at a time until we can build more.
References
1. Forest M. Mimms, Engineers Mini-Notebook: Communications Projects, pg. 34-35,
(1994.) Available at RadioShack stores.
Radio Waves
79
Laboratory No. 18:
Measuring the Length of Radio Waves
Purpose
To investigate the relative wavelengths of electromagnetic waves.
Car with an AM/FM radio, someone to drive it, and a tunnel.
Discussion
All electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light c which is equal to the product of
the length of the wave (wavelength) times its frequency f , written as
c f =
If we measure frequency in cycles per second (hertz, or Hz), and wavelength in meters (m),
then the speed of light will be measured in meters per second. Its measured value is very
close to
c = 3 10
8
m/s
which is scientific notation for three with eight zeros after it, or 300,000,000 m/sec. This is
about 186,000 miles per second! All electromagnetic waves travel at the same velocity in
vacuum, the speed of light. If the waves are traveling through some material like air or glass,
they may travel at some other slower speed. In this case the frequency stays the same as it
was in vacuum, but the wavelength decreases.
The relationship c f = says something very interesting. It says that if the frequency of
the wave f gets higher, the wavelength must get shorter, since = c f / . This means that
the waves used for the FM band are about a hundred times smaller in wavelength than the
waves used for the AM band. When you listen to KFMB AM 760, the 760 means that the
frequency of the electromagnetic waves being broadcast by the station is 760 kilohertz, or
760 thousand cycles per second. For this frequency the wavelength is:
= =

=
c
f
3 10
760 10
395
8
3
m/s
cycles/s
m
When you listen to KPBS, the frequency is 89.5 MHz, or 89.5 million cycles per second. For
KPBS the wavelength is:
= =

=
c
f
3 10
89 5 10
3 35
8
6
m/s
cycles/s
m
.
.
Your microwave oven operates at a frequency of 2.45 GHz (gigahertz), which is 2.45
thousand million cycles per second. For your microwave oven, then, the wavelength is:
= =

=
c
f
3 10
2 45 10
0 122
8
9
m/s
cycles/s
m
.
.
So we have familiar electromagnetic waves, which we use every day, with wavelengths
ranging from the length of four football fields to about the size of a dollar bill. What about
light waves for comparison? The red light from a He-Ne laser has a frequency of 474 million-
million cycles per second, so its wavelength is:
= =

=
c
f
3 10
474 10
0 0000006328
8
12
m/s
cycles/s
m .
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
80 Measuring the Length of Radio Waves Laboratory No. 18
80
This wavelength is very small, so small that we typically measure light in nanometers (nm),
which is 10
9
meters. But you can see light and you have probably done some experiments
with light like dispersing it with diffraction gratings. Now we'll try some experiments with
radio waves that show that they behave just like light but with much bigger sizes of
experimental objects to handle the much longer wavelengths
It should be clear to us by now that the main difference in the types of electromagnetic
waves we have investigated, including visible light, microwaves, ultraviolet, and infrared, is
the wavelength (or frequency) of the waves. After all, radio waves can be thought of as just
being long-wavelength light waves (or light can be thought of as being super-short radio
waves!). Because of their different wavelengths, radio waves interact with matter somewhat
differently than light waves, although both certainly display the same type of electromagnetic
wave behavior like interference, diffraction, and reflection but on a different size scale.
Similarly, because of their size difference, carrier waves used by the AM band interact with
matter slightly differently than FM carrier waves because of their great size difference.
Although electromagnetic waves travel freely through space, they can get balky when we
try to confine them. They can pass through a tube if the diameter of the tube is several
wavelengths or more, but they cannot pass if the diameter gets comparable to a wavelength
or smaller. This fact permits us to find out what the wavelengths of electromagnetic waves
are just by looking for them in confined areas. For example, since the wavelength of the
waves used in microwave ovens are about 12 centimeters long, the small holes in the door of
your microwave prevent the passage of the high power microwaves you use to cook and yet
pass the shorter wavelength visible light.
Review Questions
1. What is the speed of all electromagnetic waves traveling in a vacuum?
2. How is this speed related to the frequency and wavelength of an electromagnetic wave?
3. Which waves are longer, visible light or the waves used in a microwave oven?
Procedure
1. There are lots of tunnels around on our freeway system, one good one goes under I-5 near
the airport, but you can get the effect even if you only go under the freeway at an
overpass. Drive into the tunnel with your radio at 760 AM and then do it again using the
fm band. The AM signal will get weak or fade out altogether in the tunnel, but the fm
signal should stay strong with almost no fade. What is the difference between the two
signals in terms of their wavelengths? (See the calculation done in the discussion
section.) Can you see through the tunnel? (Note: All good car radios have a circuit called
Automatic Gain Control, which tries to compensate for changes in received signal
strength by boosting the gain when the signal goes down. This circuit competes with the
effects this experiment is trying to demonstrate, so do not be discouraged if you have to
look for just the right tunnel. It will be better to use a relatively weak radio station, so 760
works well in north county, but you might have better luck with a Los Angeles station
like 1070 in areas closer to downtown San Diego. If necessary, get a cheap AM/FM radio
which doesn't have this AGC circuit.) What is the wavelength of light compared to the
tunnel diameter?
2. Measure the size of the holes in the door of your microwave oven and tell what you can
conclude from your measurements about the wavelength of light and the wavelength of
the microwaves you use to cook.
Radio Waves
81
Laboratory No. 19:
Tuning Into Radio Waves
Purpose
To understand the principles of radio communication.
Crystal radio kit.
Discussion
Radio and television sets operate with electromagnetic waves generated by com-
mercial and public stations. Heres a brief explanation of how a radio wave is broadcast at
one location and received at another.
If you stand at the edge of a pond of still water and shake the end of a stick back and
forth in the water, youll produce waves on the water surface. These waves will spread
outward as they travel away from you, weakening as they spread. If your friend is standing
not to far away at the other edge of the pond, she will see the waves you created at the other
side. She might watch a small piece of wood floating on the surface bob up in down in the
waves. Using these waves you can actually send messages to your friend by slightly
modifying, or modulating, the way you shake the stick. One way would be to shake harder or
softer, causing your waves to be bigger or smaller. Your friend will see corresponding
increases and decreases in the amplitude of the bobbing wood. This method of sending a
message is called amplitude-modulation, or AM. Another way to send information would be
to slightly change the rate at which you shake the stick, which would slightly change the
frequency of your waves and the oscillation rate of the floating wood.
This is the principle behind radio and lightwave communication. Of course we dont use
water waves to broadcast our favorite music and important information; we use electro-
magnetic waves. It works in a similar way, though. If you shake an electrically-charged rod
to and fro in empty space, youll produce electromagnetic waves in space. This is because the
moving charge is actually an electric current. What surrounds an electric current? The answer
is a magnetic field. What surrounds a changing electric current? The answer is a changing
magnetic field! In this way the vibrating electric and magnetic fields regenerate each other to
make an electromagnetic wave, which moves outward from the vibrating charge at the speed
of light.
This is essentially how a radio transmitting antenna sends out a wave. Rather than shake a
large charged antenna, however, we shake the electrons inside the metal of the antenna using
oscillating electric currents. These electric currents are generated by a transmitter, and the
oscillation rate determines the frequency of the electromagnetic waves that are sent out.
Every radio station has an assigned frequency at which it broadcasts; the electromagnetic
wave transmitted at this frequency is called the carrier wave. This carrier wave is either
amplitude or frequency modulated, depending on the type of radio station broadcasting. AM
stations broadcast in the range of 535 to 1605 kilohertz (thousands of waves per second),
while FM stations broadcast in the higher frequency range of 88 to 108 megahertz (millions
of waves per second). Both of these electromagnetic frequency ranges are like very low-
frequency light waves. Amplitude modulation can be thought of as changing the brightness
of a constant color light bulb. Frequency modulation is like changing the color of a constant-
intensity light bulb.
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
82 Tunign into Radio Waves Laboratory No. 19
82
With both AM and FM the carrier wave is modulated by electrical currents we call the
signal. The signal is produced by converting sound vibrations from a voice or musical
instrument into electrical vibrations (currents) using a microphone at the radio station.
As a radio wave leaves the transmitting antenna, it spreads out in all directions. The
oscillating electric field of the wave causes the movable electrons in a distant radios metal
antenna to oscillate. These electrons dance a jig that is a miniature version of the electron
motion in the transmitting antenna. Although the signal weakens as the energy of the wave is
spread out over a larger and larger distance, radios that arent too far away can pick up the
signal. This signal is very weak and is usually amplified and then sent through an electrical
circuit that reconstructs the original sound from the radio station and plays it through a
speaker or headphone. It turns out that just about any piece of metal can be used as a
receiving antenna. In fact, each metal pot and pan in our kitchens is receiving radio signals,
causing the electrons within them to oscillate with the incoming radio waves. Of course our
pots and pans dont usually have the circuits, amplifiers, and speakers required to process
these electrical signals and replay the sound being broadcast, though.
Since radio waves are generally coming in from many nearby stations at the same time, a
radio must be able to be adjusted, or tuned, to pick out only one carrier signal at a time from
the many being received by the antenna. This is done by an electrical circuit called a tuner
using a process called resonance. A resonant circuit is easy to build using common electrical
components. We can build a simple AM radio using a capacitor, an inductor, and a one-way
crystal to detect and tune into some of the many radio waves surrounding us.
Review Questions
1. Are sound waves part of the electromagnetic spectrum?
2. What is meant by modulation?
3. What is the difference between AM and FM?
Procedure
1. Assemble the crystal radio included in the supply kit.
2. Examine the device closely and try to understand how it operates. Look for an external
source of power, such as a battery or power chord.
4. Attach the antenna leads to a large metal object.
3. Connect your earphone to the radio and try to tune in a local AM station. If no signal is
obtained, try stringing several meters of electrical wire around the room as an antenna.
4. Listen to the broadcast until the station is identified (this is done regularly throughout the
day). Place a piece of masking tape along the length of the coil and note the position of
the tap on the tape. Write the stations call number at this point.
5. Reconnect the antenna leads to a larger piece of metal. Note whether there is a change in
the strength of the sound.
1. The crystal radio has no battery! Where does the power come from?
2. What role does the tap position play in the circuit?
3. What is the frequency of the station you detected and tuned into? Remember, AM
frequencies are given in kHz.
4. Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light c which is equal to the product of the
length of the wave times its frequency f , written as c f = . What is the length of
the wave you tuned into?
5. What is the wavelength of the carrier wave used by your favorite FM station?
Remember, FM frequencies are given in MHz, so KPBS at 89.5 uses 89.5 million cycles
per second wave to broadcast its signal.
Radio Waves
83
Laboratory No. 20:
The Shielding of Radio Waves by Metal
Purpose
To understand the principles of radio communication.
Portable AM radio, aluminum foil, small cardboard box.
Discussion
Radio waves (as well as many other electromagnetic waves) move electrons only at the
surface of metal; electric fields cant penetrate metal because the mobile electrons at the
surface will quickly move around in such a way as to cancel out the electric field at the
surface. Instead, the oscillating electrons at the surface absorb a wave and then, because of
their own accelerations, re-emit it in the action called reflection. Metals reflect radio waves
just as a mirror reflects light. A radio wont play inside a closed metal box. Lightning cant
penetrate to the inside of a metal car.
Surprisingly, radio waves pass right through our bodies all day, every day. Its easy to
prove by putting a small portable radio on the ground, and laying over it, the radio still plays!
Radio waves dont greatly disturb the electrons in any non-conducting matter because the
waves carry very little energy and the electrons arent free to move around in a
nonconductor. Compared to metals, humans are very poor conductors of electricity. We dont
disturb the incoming waves much. Although nonconductors can shield electromagnetic
waves by absorbing them, the material must be at least several times thicker than the
wavelength of the wave for total absorption. Since our bodies and many of the
nonconduction objects around us are thin compared to the wavelength of radios waves, radio
waves can pass through a roof, a wall, or a person without much absorption.
For radio communication, radio-frequency interference can be a big problem. Just about
every electronic circuit that has changing or oscillating currents in it will radiate
electromagnetic radiation, a lot of it in the range of frequencies that includes radio and TV.
Most electronics products have to be shielded so that they dont interfere with other devices
or disrupt radio and TV communications. This is why so many electronic products carry a
label that shows that the device is approved for home use by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC). Computers especially produce a lot of electromagnetic radiation because
there are so many electrons being accelerated in the circuits as the computers do calculations.
If you take a radio which is not tuned to any station and hold it near to a computer, you will
be amazed at how strong the signal is. You can actually hear it work, just like the CIA tries to
hear the computers working in foreign embassies. You have to try to put a metal shield box
around all the radiating circuits to keep the electromagnetic radiation inside the computer if
possible and if you look inside the computer, you will see that the designers did just that.
Nevertheless, your computer is a rather good radio transmitter. Embassies often put their
sensitive computers in rooms with metal walls so the eavesdroppers are stymied. In this case
it is necessary to use old fashioned spies like James Bond and Matta Hari!
Activity
Name: Class: Date:
84 The Shielding of Radio Waves by Metal Laboratory No. 20
84
Review Questions
1. Can radio waves pass through metal?
2. Can radio waves pass through people?
3. Explain why your answers to questions one and two may be different.
Activities
1. Find a small cardboard box that the portable radio will fit inside. While the radio is
playing and tuned into a strong station, put the radio inside the box and close the box.
Can you still hear the radio playing? Of course the sound coming from the radio is
muffled, but is it still receiving the station? Now completely cover the box with
aluminum foil, or place the radio in a cage made from wire mesh. Is the radio still
playing? Poke some large holes in the box. Is it still playing now? What does this tell you
about the shielding of radio waves by cardboard versus the foil? Why are they different?
The free electrons in the metal oscillate with the incoming wave and cancel its electric
field inside the metal. If you ship an audio tape across country to a friend, you might
wrap it in aluminum foil to keep any stray electric fields from damaging the tape in
transit.
2. Use a portable AM radio to detect the radio-frequency emissions of a computer. Try
using an AM radio tuned to about 550 kHz, since there is usually no radio station
transmitting at this frequency. Have the computer do something like read a file into
memory. Notice what you hear. Take the radio to other nearby electronic devices and
circuits that you suspect might be emitting radio waves. Make a note those that generate
radio-frequency noise (at 550 kilohertz or so).
3. When electromagnetic waves penetrate into some material which absorbs them strongly,
they can be detected about one wavelength into the material almost no matter how strong
the absorption. Sea water strongly absorbs electromagnetic waves. If you wanted to
communicate with a submarine which was submerged, would use short or long radio
waves? It turns out that the wavelength of electromagnetic waves in water is shorter than
it is in air, so you will need even lower frequencies than you might think for this job. In
fact, you will need frequencies of only a few hertz, or a few cycles per second. Because
you need quite a few wavelengths of the wave to pass before you can tell that you are
receiving an electromagnetic wave and interpret either the AM or FM signal which is
superimposed on the wave, this means that the amount of information you can transmit is
quite limited ...t hings like launch, dont launch, or good-bye are about it.
Radio Waves
85
Laboratory No. 21:
Using the Earths Ionosphere to
Reflect Radio Waves
Purpose
To investigate the long distance transmission of AM and short-wave radio waves via
reflection waves by the earths ionosphere.
Portable AM radio or AM car radio.
Discussion
In the thin gas of the earths
atmosphere, above the ozone layer,
strong ultraviolet radiation from the
sun ionizes (breaks apart into charged
particles) some atoms and molecules,
creating what is called the ionosphere
(Figure 1). These ions (charged
particles) respond to the oscillating
fields of AM radio waves rising from
the earths surface, causing them to be
reflected back to earth. This is allows
short-wave radio transmissions and
some AM radio stations to be
received over great distances without
a straight line of sight to the
transmitters. The ionosphere does not reflect FM radio and TV signals, however. Their
frequencies are so high that the ionospheres electrons cant respond fast enough to the
changes in the electric field of those waves to reflect them back to earth.
Review Questions
1. What produces the Earths ionosphere?
2. Why are AM radio waves reflected off the ionosphere while FM are not?
3. Why can short-wave radio operators communicate with one another half way across the
world?
Activity
Name: Class: Date:
AM
FM
Ionosphere
+
+
+
+
+
+
+
Figure 1
86 Using the Earths Ionosphere to Reflect Radio Waves Laboratory No. 21
86
Activities
1. Some night when you are in a car, tune the AM radio to the farthest station you can find
on the AM band. Listen for the call sign of the station and what city it is broadcasting
from (note that you will never find an FM signal transmitted from so far away, since they
are not reflected off the ionosphere like the longer AM waves). Then leave the dial
untouched and return to the car the next morning. You wont be able to receive the
station. What you are indirectly demonstrating is the daytime/nighttime change in height
and ion concentration of the ionosphere. The solar UV radiation that forms the ions in the
daytime is absent at night, allowing many of the ions to begin to recombine into neutral
atoms. This recombination into atoms happens fastest where the ions are closer together,
at the lower (and hence more dense) edge of the ionosphere. As night falls, it is as if the
lower boundary of the ionosphere rises, and the reflected AM radio waves can go farther
since they are reflected at greater heights, as shown in Figure 2.
Nightime Ionosphere
Boundary
Daytime Ionosphere
Boundary
+

+

+

+

AM
Figure 2
Radio Waves
87
Laboratory No. 22:
A Diffraction Grating for Radio Waves
Purpose
To understand the principles of wave diffraction using radio waves.
Five or four cars. Portable FM radio (cheap, without automatic gain control (AGC) circuitry);
Permission for field trip!
Discussion
In earlier lab activities you used a diffraction grating to disperse visible light by creating
an interference pattern. Recall that the interference pattern was formed because of the effects
of diffraction and interference of light as it passed through a series of closely spaced slits.
The slits were spaced about one wavelength of the light apart. Both diffraction and
interference effects are general properties exhibited by all electromagnetic waves, including
radio waves. In theory, then, we should be able to make a diffraction grating that works for
radio waves! Since the wavelength of radio waves is much longer than light, though, the
dimensions of the radio grating have to be HUGE. So how exactly can we make a diffraction
grating that works for radio waves? Well, we need something that screens out the radio
waves (metal) and which can have gaps in it about a wavelength apart. The wavelength of
FM radio waves is about a meter. So what can we use as a diffraction grating? Cars!! Check
out the diagram below to see how it might be done.
Los Angeles
Incoming Waves
1 meter
Cars
FM Radio
Strong Signal
Weak Signal
Strong Signal
Strong Signal
Weak Signal
Review Questions
1. What type of device is used to form an interference pattern?
2. What two wave properties cause electromagnetic waves to form an interference pattern?
2. Which electromagnetic wave has a longer wavelength radio waves or visible light?
3. Why is it so difficult to make a diffraction grating for radio waves?
Activity
Name: Class: Date:
88 A Diffraction Grating for Microwaves Laboratory No. 22
88
Procedure
1. For this activity we have to choose the location carefully, since radio waves bounce off
metal objects just the way light bounces off a silvered mirror. A path over water is good
to avoid this, so try parking three cars at the Moonlight Beach parking lot.
2. Park the cars nose to tail with about 1 meter gap between them. Try to orient the cars so
the direction to Los Angeles is perpendicular to their line.
3. Tune the small portable radio to a Los Angeles FM station.
4. Move away from the cars so they are between you and Los Angeles. Go about 6 meters
away, as shown in the diagram above.
5. Now walk parallel to the line of cars and note what happens to the signal strength. There
should be positions of strong signal and positions of weak signal. You have constructed a
diffraction grating for radio waves which works just like the one for light, but in the case
of radio, the dimensions have to be HUGE.
Radio Waves
89
Laboratory No. 23
A Diffraction Grating for Microwaves
Purpose
To understand the principles of wave diffraction using microwaves.
Microwave transmitter and receiver, oscilloscope or voltmeter, aluminum foil, cardboard
screen, tape.
Discussion
We have examined the phenomena of diffraction and interference in great detail in
previous labs. Why do it with microwaves? Well, first of all we may be interested in seeing
how microwaves are and are not like electromagnetic waves in other regions of the spectrum.
Second of all, the wavelength of microwaves turns out to be an excellent size for interference
and diffraction experiments. Recall that the spacing in a diffraction grating must be on the
order of the same length of the waves to be diffracted. For light, this is tiny, so small that the
wavelengths are measured in nanometers (10
9
m). Great care must be taken in order to make
a diffraction grating with any kind of precision. On the other hand, we have seen that radio
waves can be several meters long or so. This size is also hard to make a diffraction grating
for. Microwaves, however, have wavelengths measured in centimeters, which make them
easy to experiment with. In fact, we can make a precision diffraction grating out of aluminum
foil and cardboard using scissors!
It is also easy to make totally and even partially reflecting mirrors out of wire mesh.
This makes microwaves an especially well-suited for demonstrating interference using what
is known as the Michelson-Morely method. This name is given to a special interference
arrangement that helped lead to the development of the Theory of Relativity! Your instructor
can give you the details lets get down to our microwave experiment!
Cardboard
Aluminum Foil
2 cm.
10 cm.
Microwave
Source
Scope or
Voltmeter
Detector
It would be fun to do this experiment using the high power microwaves in your
microwave oven. You could cook stripes into a piece of pizza dough, for example. But,
unfortunately, no mother wants her kid to come home with stripes, so we have to do this
experiment with a small microwave source. These are rather expensive, but some sources and
detectors which are low power and are safe to use have been made available. These
transmitters and receivers are surplus units from microwave systems and use a Gunn diode
Experiment
Name: Class: Date:
90 A Diffraction Grating for Microwaves Laboratory No. 23
90
both as the transmitter and as the local oscillator for the receiver. The power is only about
30 mW.
Review Questions
1. Why are microwaves useful for interference and diffraction experiments?
2. Which is longest and which is shortest, microwaves, radio waves, or visible light?
3. About how long is a microwave?
foil
gap
Incoming
Waves
Detector
Procedure
1. Make a transmission diffraction grating using a piece of cardboard and aluminum foil.
Space strips of foil so that there is about a 2 cm gap between them. and put about 5 or 10
strips on the cardboard. Each strip should be about a wavelength wide (about 10 cm at
2.5 GHz) and all strips and all gaps should be the same width.
2. Illuminate the grating with the microwave source and move the detector back and forth
on the other side of the grating looking for maxima and minima in signal strength. There
should be periodic maxima and minima. If you can still detect the signal, go far away
from the grating and measure the angle to the first maximum off from perpendicular. This
can be done using trigonometry. Measure the perpendicular distance of the detector from
the centerline (x) and the length along the centerline (s). It can be seen that
sin

= =
+
side opposite
hypotenuse
x
s x
2 2
3. This angle is the one where the waves from one slit have to go just one wavelength
farther on their way to the detector than the waves from the neighboring slit, so they all
arrive at the detector in phase or such that they all add up, creating a strong microwave
signal.
Calculate the wavelength at which your microwave source is operating from the fol-
lowing equation, which works for optical diffraction gratings and for your microwave
one made from foil:
= dsin
where d

is the width of your foil strips (actually the distance between the centers of the
areas between the foil strips) and is the angle off-perpendicular to where the detector
sees its first maximum.
Resource Box
91
The Curriculum Resource Box
Below is a list of the items included in the Resource Box developed for use with The Electromagnetic Spectrum
curriculum. Each item is packaged with a label for identification and repacking. Operating instructions and
specifications of the individual equipment is reproduced in the section following. When you are finished with
the Resource Box (RB) and are ready to pass it on, please repack it carefully. Feel free to contact Dr. Daniel
Finkenthal at (619) 455-4664 or finkenthl@gak.gat.com for assistance. Good luck and enjoy!
List of Contents:
ResourceBox # Item Description Q Source
RB-01 UV Lamp (Mineralight UVG-11) 1 Frey #F14062
RB-02 Mercury Vapor Light Source 1 Frey #F23384
RB-03 Intense Light Source 1 Frey #F01910
RB-04 Video Monitor 1 Gateway
RB-05 Video Camera 1 Gateway
RB-06 Clamp Type Lamp 1 Frey #F00223
RB-07 Economy Hot Plate 1 Frey #F01953
RB-08 Variable AC Dimmer (Triac) 1 Finkenthal
RB-09 UV Goggles 4 Frey #F14583
RB-10 Electroscope 1 Frey #F02678
RB-11 Fluorescent Mineral Collection Frey #F08934
RB-12 Flame Test Salts (set) 1 Frey #F02685
RB-13 Optical Slits Kit 1 Frey #F01920
RB-14 Scale and Slit 1 Cenco 86260-01
" Metal Suports Set (for ob) 1 Cenco 85850-01
" Screen Support 1 Cenco 85970-01
" Mercury Thermometer
(10 to 110 x 1C)
1 Frey #F12885
" X-Acto Knife 1 GA
RB-15a Crystal Radio Kits (Small Parts) 4 Frey #F991138
RB-15b Crystal Radio Kits (Bases) 4 ''
RB-16 Curriculum Manual 1 GA
" Holographic Diffraction Grating (large) 2 Learning Technologies
" Latex Gloves 5 pr GA
" Color Filters (Red, Blue, Green) 2 Edmund C35,135
RB-17 Portable AM/FM Radio 1 Radio Shack 12-734
RB-18 Wire Mesh for Faraday Cage 1d Finkenthal
RB-19 Compact Disks (gratings) 30 GA
RB-20 Wheeled Tote Locker 1 HomeBase
Resource Box
List of Contents: The Curriculum Resource Box
92
RB-21 Radiometer 1 Frey #F990224
" Holographic Diffraction Dratings 30 Arbor Scientific
" Glass Prism 1 Frey #F990924
" Polarizers -2.5 in diameter 8 Edmund C38,396
" Calcite Crystal 1 Edmund C39,946
" Black Light Incandescent 1 Frey #F05285
" Clear/ Yellow/ Halogen/ Showcase Bulbs 1 ea GTE Sylvania
" Flourescent Crayons Set 5 Frey #F00231
" Invisible (fluoresent) Ink, Fluor. Markers 1 Frey #F02101
" Cobalt Blue Glass (4 sq.) 2 Frey #F07137
" UV Detector-Viewer/ UV Bandpass Filter 1 Finkenthal/ Oriel
" UV Detector Card 4 Science Kit
" IR LED Light Source 1 Finkenthal
" Lantern Mantel (Thorium Radiation Srce) 1 Sportsmart
" Microscope Slides 40 Frey #F14680
" Colloidal Graphite 1 Frey #F02641
" Cyalume Sticks -Assorted Colors 5 Edmund C37,218
Sources
Frey Scientific
905 Hickory Lane, PO Box 8101
Mansfield, OH 44901-8101
Toll Free: 800-225-FREY
(419) 589-1900 FAX: (419) 589-1522
Gateway Electronics, Inc of California
9222 Chesapeake Drive
San Diego, CA 92123
(619) 279-6802 FAX: (619) 279-7294
CENCO (Central Scientific Company)
3300 CENCO Parkway
Franklin Park, Illinois 60131-1364
800-262-3626 FAX: (708) 451-0231
ORIEL Corp.
250 Long Beach Blvd., PO Box 872
Stratford, CT 06497-0872
(203)377-7877
Edmund Scientific Company
101 E. Gloucester Pike
Barrington, NJ 08007-1380
(609) 573-6295 FAX: (609) 573-6295
Science Kit
PO Box 5059
San Luis Obispoo, CA 93403
(800) 828-9572
Sargent-Welch
P.O. Box 5229, Buffalo Grove, IL 60089-5229
800 727 4368 FAX 800 676 2540
E-Mail sarwel@sargentwelch.com
Arbor Scientific
PO Box 2750
Ann Arbor, MI 48106-2750
(800) 367-6695
Learning Technologies Inc
59 Walden St.
Cambridge, MA 02140
(617) 547-7724
RadioShack (local outlets available)
HomeBase (local building supply retail outlet)

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Introduction to the Electromagnetic Spectrum

(see description below) to a frame of cardboard and tape this

is a transmission phase delay grating which

Spectra are produced by heating salt solutions in a clean burning

A hot mercury gas under low pressure emits

- Illuminate with the UV sources. Each color will produce

, used for welders glasses and in various physics experiments

Toilet Bowl Cleaner in portions of the projected

) on the projector and have students

over one of the polaroids on the OHP (also try

enclosed in 35 mm glass slide mounts are available for

ray gun, made by Entertech, or the

by Mattel can be used.

is an unsaturated polysester resin with a boiling point of 294F and a flashpoint of

or a similar photo-curing adhesive resin can be obtained at auto windshield

turn from liquid to solid in the presence

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