Interference:

When two wave trains arrive simultaneously at a point, the

resultant vibrations have an amplitude different from the sum of the
contributions by the two waves acting separately. This modification
of amplitude obtained by superposition of two waves is known as
interference.
The key to understanding these phenomena is to remember that
light, like all waves, obeys the principal of linear superposition,
as a result when several light waves coincide at the same place
and same time is simply the sum of the individual wave, added
with appropriate phase.
In the simplest case, light waves are produced by a coherent
source, all have same wavelength  and phase. When such
waves travel different distances and then interfere, the result
depends on difference in path length or path difference (d).

d=d1-d2= 0, 1, 2, ……= n (constructive interference)

d=d1-d2= 0, /2, 3/2, …= (n1/2) (destructive interference)

 Conditions for interference
The essential conditions for observing a sustained and good
interference pattern are:
1. The two sources of light must be coherent, i.e., they should
have a constant phase difference, not changing with time.
2. The two wave-trains must have the same frequency i.e. the
two sources must be monochromatic. Wave train means a series
of wave cycles moving at the same speed and typically having
the same wavelength.
3. The two-light wave-trains must be transmitting in the same
direction or make a very small angle with each other.
4. For good contrast the amplitudes should be equal or nearly
equal.
5. For interference of polarized waves, they must be in the same
state of polarization.
Path difference is simply difference in the physical distance
between the two sources to the observer, i.e. the difference in
distance traveled from either source to the observer.

Phase difference
Particles in waves oscillate. When they oscillate, the particles
go through phases, from 0∘ to 360∘ or zero to 2π in one
period. The particles go through phases, from 0∘ to 360∘ or
zero to 2π when it travels the distance of one wavelength
(since a particle travels the distance of one wavelength in the
time duration of one period).
Young’s double slit experiment:

One common demonstration of interference of light involves two

narrow slits and a distant screen.
Light waves that passes through each slit have same , are in
phase. The waves that meet at the center of the screen have
travelled exactly that same distance from each slit. So they meet
in phase and create bright spot at the center. Bit what happens
when light waves strike the screen off-center? It depends on the
distance each wave travels.

In this case, waves from the upper slit travel 8.5 wavelengths,
waves from the lower slit travel 8.0 wavelength. So in this case
they are out of phase, destructive interference occurs (dark fringe).
If one looks even farther from the center of the screen, one can
find a spot to which upper wave travels n1= 9.5 and lower
wave travels n2= 8.5.

In this case, waves from the upper slit travel 9.5

wavelengths, waves from the lower slit travel 8.5
wavelength. So in this case they are in phase, constructive
interference occurs (bright fringe).
Now what is the extra distance x travelled by the lower wave?

x= dsin 
where  is the angle away from straight-through at which the
wave travels. There is a general rule for determining the type
of interference at any spot on the screen.
Given a screen at distance L, illuminated by slits a distance d
apart, a spot on the screen at an small angle  from the midline
will have
dsin= n n= 0, 1, , … (constructive interference)
sin= n/d
dsin= (n1/2) n= 0, 1, 2,….. (destructive interference)

Here, L>>d
  1
 n  
sin=  d 
2

Also note that when L>>d and d>>, then the spacing of
bright and dark spot on the screen can be determined like so.
The position on screen y= Ltan, but for small angles 1,
tansin. So y= Lsin
(i) Bright fringes
y= Ln/d constructive
L L 2 n  3, x3 
L3
n  1, x1  n  2, x2 
d d d
Therefore, the distance between any two consecutive bright fringes
2L L L
x2  x1   
d d d
(i) Dark fringes
Similarly, for dark fringe 
L
d
 Circular aperture
Light diffracts as it moves through space, bending around
obstacles, interfering constructively and destructively. When light
from a point source passes through a small circular aperture, it
does not produce a bright dot as an image, but rather a circular
disc known as Airy's disc surrounded by much fainter concentric
circular rings. This example of diffraction is of great importance
because the eye and many optical instruments have circular
apertures. If this spreading of the image of the point source is
larger than that produced by the aberration of the system, the
imaging process is said to be diffraction-limited. The interference
pattern on the screen behind the circular aperture of a finite size is
created similarly to the slit- the waves from different secondary
sources in the aperture (Huygens principle) interfere. The
resulting pattern is a set of co-centric circular bright and dark
bands with the highest peak in the center.
Resolving power
It is defined as the inverse of the distance or angular
separation between two objects which can be just resolved
when viewed through the optical instrument.
 Resolving power of telescope:
In telescopes, very close objects such as binary stars or individual
stars of galaxies subtend very small angles on the telescope. To
resolve them we need very large apertures. Rayleigh’s criterion is
used to determine the resolving power. It gives the smallest possible
angle θ between point sources, or the best obtainable resolution. Once
this angle is found, the distance between stars can be calculated, since
we are given how far away they are. The angular separation between
two objects must be   1.22  , for a circular aperture of diameter d
d

So, resolving power is 1  d

 1.22

Thus, the higher the diameter d, the better the resolution. The
best astronomical optical telescopes have mirror diameters as
large as 10m to achieve the best resolution. Also, larger
wavelengths reduce the resolving power, and consequently,
radio and microwave telescopes need larger mirrors.
According to Rayleigh two equally bright sources can be just
resolved by any optical system when their distance apart is such
that in the diffraction pattern, the maxima due to one falls on the
minima due to the other.
A Fresnel Biprism is a thin double prism placed base to
base and have very small refracting angle (0.5o). This is
equivalent to a single prism with one of its angle nearly
179° and other two of 0.5o each. The interference is
observed by the division of wave front.

Fresnel biprism can be used to determine the wavelength of

a light source (monochromatic), thickness of a thin
transparent sheet/thin film, refractive index of medium etc.
 Interference in thin film
A layer of material is referred to as a thin film for a given wave-
length of electromagnetic radiation when its thickness is of the
order of that wavelength. In other word, we may define thin film
when the thickness of the film is comparable with the
wavelength of light used.

Interference due to reflected light:

It is obvious that from the points L and E onwards, the two
rays travel equal distances. Since the path (BD+DE) within
the film is equivalent to a path (BD+DE) in air, the optical
path difference of the two rays is
x= (BD+DE) – BL = (BD+DE) – BL (DR+RE) – BL
Also, BD=DE
And,
sin i BL / BE BL
  
sin r RE / BE RE
or , BL  RE
Or, the path difference x   RD  DS   RS

From the triangle BSR,

RS
cos r 
BS
or , RS  BS cos r  BT  TS cos r  2t cos r

Where, BT=TS=t (thickness of the thin film)

x  RS   2t cos r  2t cos r

The optical path difference, x = 2μ t cosr

Where, t = thickness of the thin film
μ = refractive index of the thin film medium
When the ray is reflected from a denser medium (ray A at
B), a path change of λ/2 occur for the ray. Therefore true
path difference due to this phase change can be written as,
x = 2μ t cosr + λ/2
Condition of Maxima (Bright Fringe)
Maxima occur when path difference x=n
n = 2μ t cosr + λ/2
 2n  1
2 t cos r  n  or , 2 t cos r  
2 2
Condition of Minima (Dark Fringe)
Minima occur when path difference
x
2n  1
2

2 t cos r 


2n  1 or , 2t cos r   n
2 2
 Newton’s ring
When a parallel beam of monochromatic light is incident normally
on a combination of a plano-convex lens C and a glass plate P, as
shown in fig.1(a), a part of each incident ray is reflected from the
lower surface of the lens, and a part, after refraction through the
film between the lens and the plate, is reflected back from the
surface of glass plate. These two reflected rays are coherent, hence
they will interfere and produce a system of alternate dark and bright
rings (fig.1(b)) with the point of contact between the lens and the
plate at the center. These rings are known as Newton’s rings.
In general, the path difference between the reflected light
beams which are undergoing interference (for oblique
incidence) is given by
∆ = 2µtcosθ − λ/2 , (1)
where additional path difference of λ/2 is because one of the
interfering beam is reflected from film to glass surface. Also,
θ is the angle of incidence.
For normal incidence θ=0◦ and hence, the path difference
will be
∆ = 2µt – λ/2, (2)

In the interference pattern bright fringe will be formed if

the path difference is equal to integral multiple of
wavelength of light, i.e.,
 ∆ = 2µt – λ/2 = nλ; n = 0, 1, 2, 3...
⇒ 2µt = (n + 1/2 )λ; n = 0, 1, 2, 3... (3)

For intensity minima (dark fringe), ∆ = (n + 1/2 )λ, and thus,

2µt = nλ, n = 0, 1, 2, 3... (4)

Relationship between ring diameter and wavelength:

In fig.2, let LOL/ is the plano-

convex lens placed on glass plate.
Plano-convex lens appears as part
of circle of radius R. Here, radius R
is known as radius of curvature of
plano-convex lens. Suppose r is the
radius of some nth bright ring
having thickness t.
Using the property of circle, from fig.(2), we can write
EP × P F = P O × P Q,
⇒ r2n = t × (2R − t),
⇒ r2n = (2Rt − t2 ).

Since R >> t, t2 can be neglected therefore 2t = nλ/µ

r2n  2Rt, (5)

by using Eq.(4) and Eq.(5), we have

nR (6)
rn2 


Using rn= Dn/2 , we can write following relation for diameter

of nth, ring
 nR
Dn2  4rn2  (7)


The diameter of some mth dark fringe will be

mR
Dm2 
 (8)

Subtracting Eq.(7) and Eq.(8), we can write following relation

Dn2  Dm2
  (9)
4 Rn  m
Above equation is used to find the wavelength of
monochromatic light using Newton ring’s method, in
which material of refractive index µ is immersed between
plano-convex lens and glass plate. If air is enclosed as thin
film having µ=1, then Eq.(9) becomes
Dn2  Dm2 (10)

4 Rn  m
 Polarization
Unpolarized light is defined as a light wave that vibrates in
more than one plane. Unpolarized light sources include the light
emitted by the sun, a lamp, and a tube light. Polarization is the
process of converting unpolarized light into polarized light.
Plane polarized light is made up of waves with the same
direction of vibration for all of them.
Polarization by Polaroid
A polaroid is a material which polarizes unpolarized light. The
first picture is one that is not polarized. The 2nd and 3rd pictures
are polarized.
The intensity of the polarized light transmitted through the
analyzer varies as the square of the cosine of the angle
between the plane of transmission of the analyzer and the
plane of the polarizer.
The intensity I of the polarized light transmitted through
the analyzer is given by the Malus Law.

𝐼=I0 𝑐𝑜𝑠2𝜃 where, I0 is the original intensity and θ is the

angle between the planes of the polarizer and the analyzer.
Malus law:
When light falls on a polarizer, the transmitted light gets
polarized. The polarized light falling on another Polaroid,
called analyzer, transmits light depending on the orientation of
its axis with the polarizer. The intensity of light transmitted
through the analyzer is given by Malus’ law. The law describes
how the intensity of light transmitted by the analyzer varies
with the angle that its plane of transmission makes with that of
the polarizer. The law can be stated in words as follows: The
intensity of the transmitted light varies as the square of the
cosine of the angle between the two planes of transmission.
Intensity of Polarized Light
The intensity of unpolarized light is reduced as a result of
polarization. If unpolarized light of intensity I0 passes through
a polarizer, the intensity of the transmitted polarized light
falls by a half.
The intensity of polarized light transmitted by a polarizer is
half the intensity of the unpolarised light incident on it.
Intensity of analyzed light
The first filter that the unpolarized light goes through is
the polarizer. A second polarizing filter placed after the first
one is known as an analyzer. If the analyzer has the same
orientation as the polarizer, the light transmitted by the
analyzer has the same intensity as the light incident on it. If
they have a different orientation, we must use Malus Law to
determine the intensity of the transmitted light.
If the polarizer and the analyzer have the same orientation,
light transmitted by the analyzer has the same intensity as light
that is incident upon it, since cos(0) = 1
If vertically polarized light with intensity is incident on an
analyzer with a vertical transmission axis, all of the light will be
transmitted through the analyzer. The intensity will not decrease
between the polarizer and the analyzer.
If the analyzer is rotated by 90° with respect to the polarizer
(θ = 90°), the intensity of the light transmitted by the
analyzer will be zero, since cos(90°) = 0.
If vertically polarized light is incident on an analyzer with a
horizontal transmission axis, none of the light will be
transmitted through the analyzer. In this instance, all the
light will be absorbed.
Polarization by double refraction
Light passing through a calcite
crystal is split into two rays.
This process, first reported by
Erasmus Bartholinus in 1669, is
called double refraction. The
two rays are plane polarized by
the calcite such that the planes
of polarization are mutually
perpendicular.

For normal incidence (Snell’s law angle of 0°), the two

planes of polarization are also perpendicular to the plane of
incidence. These two beams in general have different
velocities in medium.
Calcite is the most common carbonate mineral. It has a
formula unit composition of CaCO3. Its crystal system
is trigonal and its habit varies more than any other mineral.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdrYRJfiUv0

huge double refractive crystal #shorts - YouTube

 Brewster's law
Statement: The tangent of the angle of polarization is
numerically equal to the refractive index of the medium.
 Suppose, unpolarized light is incident at an angle equal to the
polarizing angle on the glass surface. It is reflected along BC
and refracted along BD as shown in the figure.
sin i
From Snell’s law 
sin r
sin i
From Brewster’s law   tan i 
cos i

Comparing these two equations

sin i sin i
 1 1  
or ,  or , cos i  sin r  cos  r 
sin r cos i sin r cos i 2 
  
 i    r  or , as i  r 
2  2
Therefore, the reflected and the refracted rays are right angles (900)
to each other.
From Brewster’s law, it is clear that for crown glass of refractive
index () 1.52, the value of I is given by i  tan 1
1.52   56.7 0
# Unpolarized light of intensity I0 is incident on a polarizer.
The transmitted polarized light is then incident on an
analyzer. The transmission axis of the analyzer makes an
angle of 45° with the transmission axis of the polarizer.
Determine the intensity of light transmitted by the analyzer.
Solution
Intensity of unpolarized light = I0
Angle of rotation of analyzer with respect to polarizer, θ = 45°
Malus's law I  I cos 
0 2

 
2
I I  1  I 1
I  0 cos 2 450 I 0   0
2 2  2 2 2

I0
I
4

The intensity of light transmitted by the analyzer is a

quarter the intensity of the unpolarized light.
A beam of light strikes the surface of a plate of glass with a
refractive index of √3 at the polarizing angle. What will be the
ray’s angle of refraction?
Solution:
Consider iP be the polarizing angle,

Refractive index, =tan-1 ip

ip = tan√3=600

Angle of refraction, r= 900-ip = 900-600=300

Hence, the angle of refraction is 300