Corte Thiago Zacarias Physics Extended Essay
Corte Thiago Zacarias Physics Extended Essay
Corte Thiago Zacarias Physics Extended Essay
Physics
Personal Code: kbx578
Pages count: 26
1
Index
1. Cover 1
2. Index 2
3. Introduction 3
4. Development 5
8. Conclusion 25
9. Bibliography 26
2
Introduction
In the following extended essay, I am going to explore the concept of the undulatory
phenomenon of light and its experimental proof of it. The reason why I choose this subject is
that searching on the Internet I saw lots of different videos from different scientific
videos about the subject. In addition to this, in school through the IB programme in physics
we started studying the waves chapter of the study program and I found it interesting to find
an intersection point between what I see in videos and what I learn in school from waves.
While investigating the history behind this concept of duality I saw all the experiments that
were necessary to prove both the particle theory and the wave theory, so it came to my
mind the possibility of proving by myself that light has one or another nature, as seen in the
title I ended up choosing to prove the undulatory phenomenon of light. So, the question for
this extended essay will be “To what extent can the light's undulatory phenomena be
Throughout this extended essay, the reader will explore three different experiments with
different perspectives that will try to prove if the light has a wave nature. These experiments
will be compared to the waves theory as the results seen in the experiment must be based
on the waves theory in order for the light to be considered a wave. The reader through the
essay will be able to see an experimental proof for all the wave theories as well as the fact
that the light has an undulatory attitude, also they will see the materials and setup
necessary to replicate all the experiments as these are really basic ones.
3
The following essay will be structured by presenting all the required theories about waves
with an explanation and an image to show the concept. After this, every experiment will be
divided into three parts: the first part will show the objective of the experiment, what it is
trying to prove and through which theoretical concepts; The second part will be the list of
necessary materials and the setup needed; The third part will be the variables present and
what those variables seek to prove; finally the procedure of the experiment and the results
Before starting, it is essential to clarify that the concept of the wave and all the
theoretical ideas and equations are no more than a way to model and represent what is
4
Development
Objective
It is well known that the lights indeed have an undulatory behavior, but as mentioned
before, the objective of this extended essay is not to prove if light has an undulatory
nature or not as it has already been proven, but to see if it can be proven with the
analyse light's actions throughout three different experiments. Each experiment will be
related to the theories about waves explained before, therefore the way to prove that the
light has an undulatory attitude is to show that what it is seen is the same as what the
theory says.
Theory
As my objective for this extended essay is to prove if light has an undulatory behaviour,
what is needed now is to define which are these properties and phenomena that
characterise and differentiate waves from particles, as these characteristics are going to
To begin with, the most important thing to define is the concept of wave1 as it is
indispensable for the work because the characteristics of a wave are useless if it is not
defined by the concept of wave. The definition I'm going to use is “A disturbance
1
Even though light is an electromagnetic wave, in this work I'm going to refer to it just as a wave because the
level required not only to understand but also to develop and explain the concept is quite complicated far from
what the IB programm covers
5
travelling through a medium by which energy -not matter- is transferred from one
particle of the medium to another without causing any permanent displacement of the
medium itself.”
Taking into account this definition of waves, the following step is to understand the six
characteristics that are fundamental to describe a wave, they are basic in order to
Period of oscillation (T): The period of oscillation can be defined as the time it takes
for a wave to complete one oscillation. In this time the wave goes from equilibrium point
Frequency (f): It can be defined as the quantity of oscillations the wave does in a unit of
The relation between these two concepts can be described mathematically with the
equation below:
f=1/T (1)
𝑇 = 1/𝑓 (2)
Through this equation is that the frequency and the period of oscillation are related to
each other.
6
Wavelength (𝛌): It is the distance between two equal points of the wave in a unit of
distance, in this case as we are working with lights will be in nanometres (nm).
Amplitude (A): It is the maximum distance of the wave from the equilibrium point, it
Speed of propagation (c): It is the velocity of propagation the wave has and it is
8
measured in metres per second. In the case of the light it is approximately 3. 10 metres
−1
per second (𝑚. 𝑠 ).
C=f.𝛌 (3)
C=𝛌/T (4)
Wave front: It is the imaginary surface that is constructed by all the points that are at
the same phase, the form of the front depends on the medium it is travelling at. It can be
7
Image 0.2 “Types of wavefronts”
Wave Types: Waves can be divided by two different variables, the medium they
propagate and the way they vibrate in the medium. The first group can be divided into
two, the first ones are mechanical waves that can only propagate through a medium, And
the second ones are electromagnetic waves that can propagate through vacuum and
through a medium. The second division is defined by the way they disturb the medium;
The first type is longitudinal waves, this one can be defined by their parallel move
respect to the velocity vector; The second type is transverse waves, these ones are
8
Knowing which are the properties that define the waves, now in order to prove that light
is indeed a wave it is needed to see that it follows the phenomena that waves suffer
from. So now I'm going to show which are the four different phenomena that waves go
Refraction: It is the change in direction of a wave passing from one medium to another
caused by its change in speed. This can be expressed by Snell's law of refraction which
expresses the index of refraction or how much the wave is going to change when it
changes its medium. This law is mathematically expressed through the equations:
𝐶
𝑁= 𝑉
(6)
𝐶 𝐶
𝑉1
. 𝑠𝑖𝑛(θ) = 𝑉2
. 𝑠𝑖𝑛(α) (7)
Where N is the refraction index and it is divided into Ni that represents the incident
index and Nr from the refracted index; And in the second equation where C is the speed
Reflection: It is the abrupt change in the direction of propagation of a wave that strikes
the boundary between different mediums. The angle of incidence is the same as the
9
reflected one.
Interference: It is the net effect of the combination of two or more wave trains
destructive depending on the direction of propagation and the amplitude of the wave.
The interaction is made by the sum of the two in a positive or negative result. If the sum
has a positive or a negative result, it is constructive; but, if the result ends in zero it is
destructive.
diffraction is that sharp shadows are not produced. Also the phenomenon is the result of
2
https://www.britannica.com/science/diffraction
10
interference.
Variables
As in any experiment, there are different variables present that may change the results
of the experiment, this can be divided into controlled which are the ones that will be
constant through all the experiment; The independent ones which will vary through the
experiment; and the dependent variables that are the ones that will vary depending the
dependent ones.
11
Experiment 1
Objectives
The objective of this experiment is to prove the reflection and refraction phenomenon of
light as both are crucial actions that determine whether something behaves or not as a
wave. For this, the first experiment will analyze the behavior of light as it travels through
two different mediums, the first one is the air and the second one is water.
Equipment:
● Hartl disc
12
Image 1.3 “Hartl disc”
● Incense
● Starch
● Wood plank
The setup of the experiment consists of filling the fishbowl half with water with starch
in it and the other half with the smoke of the incense, and at the back of the fishbowl a
degree measuring disc. The purpose of the starch and some is to see the laser's path as it
is much more visible with this. The objective of this experiment is, as mentioned before,
to see if the light behaves or not as a wave and through this experiment is to see if the
13
light has two properties of the waves that are refraction and reflection.
Variables
1. Controlled variables
● Room, dark and at room temperature in order to see light and not create
2. Independent variables
3. Dependent variables:
● Refraction Angles, as it Snell's law says that it changes with the medium
The procedure for this experiment will be divided into two, the first one as mentioned in
the setup will be in a fishbowl without smoke and with clean water, and the second part
of the experiment will be with smoke and with starch in the water. In each experiment
the procedure is the same, take a color of the laser between blue and red and follow the
Hartl disc varying the angle of incidence to see what happens with the angle of
14
The results of the experiment can be seen in both images 1.5 and 1.6, which can be seen
the two sets of variables, where the refraction and reflection phenomena, as well as
Snell's law, can be seen. With the first set of variables, with clean water and without
smoke, it was proved that indeed the light not only follows refraction but also it follows
Snell's law. As seen in image 1.5 the angle of incidence is approximately 80º from the
normal, but the refraction angle varies reaching approximately 40º, this can be proven
𝑠𝑖𝑛(80)
𝑎𝑟𝑐𝑠𝑖𝑛⎡ ⎤= θ
⎣ 1.333 ⎦
θ ≈ 47. 6
As it can be seen in image 1.5 the result of the equation is similar to the result of the
experiment.
The second set of variables, with smoke and dirty water seen in image 1.6, helped to
reaffirm the results obtained in the first set of variables as the angle of diffraction is
different from the incidence one, proving this way that the light indeed follows the
refraction phenomena. In the case of this second set of variables Snell's law cannot be
applied as the values for the refraction index from the smoke and dirty water are not
calculated. Another thing present in this second part of the experiment is the
appearance of the reflection phenomena as the light partly enters the water and part is
reflected outside the water. In this case, the angles cannot be calculated but from the
theory and from what can be seen in image 1.6 the angles are exactly the same.
15
In conclusion, this experiment reached its objective as it helped to prove that light
indeed has a wave nature as it reacts in the same ways through refraction and reflection.
16
Experiment 2
Objectives
unique attitude from waves. For this, the experiment will be based on creating the
perfect circumstance to make light diffract by making it go through a very small slit.
Also, another objective of this experiment is to prove, taking into account that light is a
Equipment:
● Double-slit
● Two Different colour lasers, blue and red. (See image 1.2)
● Optical Bench
17
Image 2.2 “Optic bench”
● A metre
The setup for this experiment requires an optical bench with a laser attached to it on
one side and on the other side of the bench a double-slit. At the end of the optical bench,
there will be a wood plank in order to see what happens to light after going through the
slit. In the same table, it is marked every 10cm using the double slit as the origin of the
reference system.
Variables
1. Controlled variables:
● Laser position
● Room, dark and at room temperature in order to see light and not create
2. Independent variables:
● Laser color
3. Dependent variables:
the larger the distance between the slit and the wood plank the more
18
● Distance between the light points in the wood plank. The theory says that
changing the color should change the distance between light points.
The procedure for this experiment will be making the light beam go through the slit till
it reaches the wood plank, after the first result the wood plank will go to the next mark
10cm farther from the slit. After completing all the marks on the table the experiment is
If taking into account the light as a particle the result of this experiment should not be
that surprising as it should form two different light points on the wood plank, but the
result is far from this. As can be seen in images 2.4 and 2.5 rather than creating two light
points there are 9 different intensity light points. The result of this experiment cannot
through the concepts of diffraction and superposition. After going through the slit the
light divides into two new wavefronts, these ones superpose each other by in some
areas creating a destructive superposition and in others a constructive one, this can be
seen in image 2.4 as the zones without light are points in which waves destructed each
other, and in the light zones, there is a constructive superposition. Also, something to
notice from this experiment is that there are brighter zones than others and this is
because the centre point of light in the wood plank is the same as the one of the slit,
therefore when the waves superpose each other they will be in phase and there will be a
constructive interference; and as you move away from this centre point the distance
from each slit to this point will be different and the waves will not reach in phase to it
19
and there will form dimmer areas. Another thing to notice from this experiment is that
“the farther” the distance from the origin the better the diffraction phenomena can be
seen, and this is because if the wood plank is really close to the slit it leaves no space for
The second part of the experiment changed the laser variable in order to prove if light
has or not a change in wavelength. Changing the laser from red to blue hasn't changed
much from the initial experiment as the distance change from one light area to the other
In conclusion, this experiment was useful in order to prove that light acts due to the
diffraction and superposition laws. But on the other hand, it has not reached its second
objective to prove the existence of wavelengths as the equipment required for this is
20
Image 2.4 “diffraction of light from 30cm from the origin”
21
Experiment 3
Objective
The objective of this experiment is to, in a certain way, recreate the Michelson Morley
experiment in which two equal light beams intersect each other at a specific point in
time and space and cancel each other out. Not proven yet in this extended essay, but
imagining that light is a wave means that it has peaks and valleys, and that follows the
superposition theorems, so if two light beams cross each other at a specific point in
space they should cancel each other. So, the objective of this experiment is to cross two
light beams and try to cancel out each other to prove that they are waves.
Equipment:
● Incense
22
The set-up for this experiment requires the two light beams to cross each other at a
specific point. So, taking into account this, the set-up will be one laser attached through
a grip to the optical bench and the other, at the same height, attached to a universal
slipper perpendicular to the first laser. After this, throughout the experiment, there is
going to be an incense below the intersection point to look at both lasers intersecting
thanks to the smoke. After this, on the same table, there will be a wood plank at the end
Variables
1. Controlled variables:
● Room, dark and at room temperature in order to see light and not create
2. Independent variables:
destructive superposition.
3. Dependent variables:
laser.
The procedure for this experiment will be making the lights superpose each other at a
specific point in space, for this one laser will be immovable and the other will be varying
23
Taking into account the idea that light is indeed a wave, then it should follow the
superposition theorems and it can be destructed if two equal opposite waves intersect
each other at a specific point, one in its trough and the other in a crest. So, in order to
prove this concept, it is necessary to intersect two beams at a specific point and in
specific parts of the wave. For this, one laser was immobile and the other one was
shortly moved by centimetres. This can be seen in image 3.2, where incense is used in
order to see the path both lasers take and the point they both intersect each other. The
difficulty that affronted this experiment is that the wavelength of light is nanometric, a
In conclusion, this experiment failed its objective to prove that light has a wavelength
and therefore it is a wave. The reason for this failure is, as explained before, light has a
nanometric wavelength that is impossible to reach by moving the laser with the hand.
To reach this type of movement it is necessary to have very specific and professional
equipment that can reach these very small movements. So, this experiment is not useful
to prove that the light is a wave as it needs very complex and expensive equipment that
24
Conclusion
Taking into account all the experiments and results seen in the different experiments it
can be concluded that on the one hand the light phenomenons can be proved by using
the school's equipment as the results of the experiment can be seen simply with human
eyes; but, on the other hand, the wave characteristics cannot be proved as the
This can be seen in experiments Nº1 and Nº2 where the results of the experiments are
really useful to prove that light follows a waves nature as it can refract, superpose,
diffract and reflect, this is useful to say that light has a similar attitude compared to a
wave but it is no enough to make a statement. The results on experiment Nº3 as the
others were useful to prove that it is not possible with the school`s materials to
recognise or see different wave characteristics in light as these are insignificant to the
human eye and can only be tested with very specific and specialized equipment that is
In conclusion, it cannot be proved with school laboratory materials that the light has an
undulatory behavior as there is no such way to prove that it has a wave characteristic
(Amplitude, Period, Frequency, Wavelength, Wavefront), but what can be proved is that
Refraction, Interference).
25
Bibliography:
● Kognity.(n.d). 4.1 Oscillation, August 10 2022, from
https://app.kognity.com/study/app/bio-hl-core/bio-hl-core/membrane-c
ore/cholesterol/
● Kognity.(n.d). 4.2 Travelling Waves, August 10 2022, from
https://app.kognity.com/study/app/bio-hl-core/bio-hl-core/membrane-c
ore/cholesterol/
● Kognity.(n.d). 4.3 Wave Characteristics, August 10 2022, from
https://app.kognity.com/study/app/bio-hl-core/bio-hl-core/membrane-c
ore/cholesterol/
● Kognity.(n.d). 4.4 Wave behaviour, August 10 2022, from
https://app.kognity.com/study/app/bio-hl-core/bio-hl-core/membrane-c
ore/cholesterol/
● Kognity.(n.d). 4.5 Standing Waves, August 10 2022, from
https://app.kognity.com/study/app/bio-hl-core/bio-hl-core/membrane-c
ore/cholesterol/
● Vanstone, Emma. “What Is Refraction?” Science Experiments for Kids, 22 Feb.
2021, https://www.science-sparks.com/what-is-refraction/
● “Diffraction Waves through Gap Sizes. Wave Diffraction Diagram of Wide Gap and
Na” Pinterest, @DreamstimeStockPhotos, 2 Dec. 2020, https://pin.it/23bancU
● “Characteristics of Waves.” Characteristics of Waves: Dan Russell and WGBH
Educational Foundation, 2020,
https://lsintspl3.wgbh.org/en-us/lesson/buac20-int-explorewave/5
● “Comparison of Transverse and Longitudinal Waves.: Longitudinal Wave, Waves,
Diagram.” Pinterest, @mooreerin2, 23 July 2017, https://pin.it/1Rmg8su
● “Does Interference Take Place Only in Waves Parallel to Each Other?” Physics
Stack Exchange, Phil HPhil H 1, et al., 7 Apr. 2014,
https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/107286/does-interference-take-p
lace-only-in-waves-parallel-to-each-other.
26