Interference

INTERFERENCE
BY: ARRIANE
WHAT IS INTERFERENCE
• An act, fact, instance of interfering.

• The process in which two or more light, sound, or
electromagnetic waves of the same frequency combine
to reinforce or cancel each other, the amplitude of the
resulting wave being equal to the sum of the amplitudes
of the combining waves
EXAMPLE:
Imagine a light wave that is like a very long sine wave. If you start at a crest and move an integral number of wavelengths, you
will come to another crest. Such a wave is coherent.
> Consistent or united/forming as a whole
IDEA:
Two coherent light waves of the same wavelength may interfere.
This means they can reinforce each other and produce a larger amplitude (constructive interference), or they may cancel
each other out (destructive interference).
CONSTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE
-occurs when the maxima of two waves add together(the two waves are in phase), so that the amplitude of the resulting wave
is equal to the sum of the individual amplitudes.
DESTRUCTIVE INTERFERENCE
-occurs when the maxima of two waves are 180 degrees out of phase: a positive displacement of one wave is cancelled
exactly by a negative displacement of the other wave. The amplitude af the resulting wave is zero
Double Slit Interference
In 1801 Thomas Young performed a brilliant experiment that established the wave nature of light. He shined light on a
narrow slit which then acted like a point source. In Fig. 32-2 the circles emanating from So represent the wave fronts
of the light (crests of the wave). The light then struck a second screen containing two slits. Each of these slits acted
as a secondary source emitting coherent light. Two sets of wave fronts emanate from these slits. Where the crests
coincide, the light is reinforced, and where a crest falls on top of a trough, the light cancels. As a result light
directed along the black dots is bright, and light directed along the small circles cancels. On the screen one sees a
pattern of bright and dark bands.
Let L = path length from a slit to the screen. If the difference in path lengths is Δ L = λ, 2λ, 3λ, …, nλ, the waves will interfere
constructively and a bright band will appear. If ΔL = 1/2λ, 3/2λ, 5/2λ, n/2λ, the waves will cancel and a dark band will appear. I assume that
the distance D to the screen is large compared to the slit spacing d, so the rays go nearly parallel toward the screen. From Fig. 32-3 you can
see that ΔL = d sin θ. Thus the positions of bright and dark bands on either side of the central maximum are given by
Here I is the intensity from one of the slits alone. This is valid for small θ. In fact, the intensity falls off as one goes away from the
central maximum, as shown in Fig. 32-4. In practice D where y is the distance on the screen from the central axis to a band, so tan θ .
Thus conditions for bright or dark bands are:
m = 0 is the central bright band, m = 1 is the first-order bright band (one on

either side of the center), m = 2 is the second-order, and so on.
PROBLEM.
When sodium yellow light (λ = 589 nm) is used in a double slit experiment, the first-order maximum is 0.035 cm from the central
maximum. When another light source of unknown wavelength is used, the first-order maximum occurs at 0.032 cm from the center.
What is this wavelength?
SOLUTION:
Multiple Slit Interference and Phasors
Consider the two waves radiating from the two slits of Fig. 32-3. Let the electric field of the upper be E = E sin ωt and that of the lower ray
be E = E sin(ωt + φ). The difference in phase φ is due to the difference in path length ΔL. φ = 2π(ΔL/λ). I wish to add these two electric
fields together to obtain the resultant field E. I represent each electric field by a phasor that rotates with angular frequency ω as shown in
Fig. 32-5a. The vector sum of E and E is the resultant field E. There will be a phase angle β between E and E , and from the isosceles triangle
in Fig. 32-5b I see that 2β = φ. Thus from the triangle,
The intensity of a wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude. If I is

the intensity of the resultant wave, and I is the intensity of one of the
individual waves, then
Interference in Thin Films
Almost all interference effects result from splitting a light beam and allowing one beam to travel a different path than the other,
resulting in a phase shift between them when they are recombined. Interference effects in thin films are a striking example of this. First
note the following important points:
When light traveling in a medium of index of refraction n is reflected from a medium of index n , it undergoes a 180° phase shift if n > n ,
and it undergoes no phase shift if n > n . When light of wavelength λ travels in a medium whose index of refraction is n, its wavelength is
λn = v/f = c/nf = λ/n.
In Fig. 32-8, a light ray is incident normally on a thin soap film in air. (For clarity I drew the rays at a slight angle to the normal.) Part of the
light is reflected from the upper surface, where it experiences a 180° phase shift. Part of the light is reflected from the bottom surface.
Some of the light is transmitted, and some continues to make multiple internal reflections. I will look at just the resultant light reflected
back from the top. The light reflected from the lower surface travels an extra distance 2t, where t = film thickness. This means its
phase is shifted by 2π(2t/λ ) = (4nπt/λ) rad. If this phase shift is a multiple of 2π rad, it will cancel the top wave when they interfere
(because the top wave already had a 180° phase shift due to reflection). If the phase shift is an odd multiple of π rad, the waves will
interfere constructively and bright light will be seen on reflection. Thus
PROBLEM .
After a rain you've probably noticed brightly colored films of gasoline or oil floating on water puddles in the street. The white sunlight
falling on the film contains all colors, but some wavelengths (colors) are more strongly reflected than others in various parts of the
film where the thickness varies. What minimum thickness of gasoline (n = 1.40) floating on water (n = 1.33) will result in strong
destructive interference for blue light ( λ = 470 nm)?
Solution The light reflected from the top surface undergoes a 180° phase shift. The light reflected from the water does not
undergo a reflection phase shift since n > n . Thus
The Michelson Interferometer

An interferometer is an instrument used to measure extremely small displacements. The Michelson interferometer is shown in Fig.
32-11. Monochromatic light from a source strikes a partially silvered mirror P. Part of the light, ray A, is transmitted and
continues on to strike mirror M . It is reflected back, and part of the ray is reflected down to the detector. Ray B is reflected up
to hit mirror B. It is reflected back, and part goes through the mirror M to the detector. If the paths for the two rays are the
same, they will interfere constructively. If now mirror B is moved back, there will be a path difference. If M is moved back , the
path length will change by (because the beam goes up and back) and the rays will interfere destructively. Thus as M is moved, the
field of view will go alternately bright and dark. By counting the number of changes, we can determine very accurately how far M
moves. Plate CP is inserted as a compensating plate to equalize the distances traveled in glass by the two beams
PROBLEM.
Light of 587.5 nm is used in a Michelson interferometer. When the movable mirror is moved, 1780 changes from dark to dark patterns
are observed. How far was the mirror moved?

Interference

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INTERFERENCE

• An act, fact, instance of interfering.

m = 0 is the central bright band, m = 1 is the first-order bright band (one on

The intensity of a wave is proportional to the square of its amplitude. If I is

The Michelson Interferometer

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