TO STUDY THE PHENOMENON OF DIFFRACTION OF LIGHT light intensity (I) angular position -8 6, 8 8 40 Bit BEG central maximum 0we Soe . Introduction .. INDEX TO THE PROJECT 1.1. Diffraction 1.2. History of diffraction THEORY OF THE PROJECT . fee weet eeeeeeceeeee eed slit 2.1. Diffraction through a sing 2.2. Diffraction patterns EXPERIMENT . . 3.1. Aim of the experiment 3.2. Apparatus Required 3.3. Procedure of the experiment OBSERVATIONS ....cccscecsseeseseeesoees sed) RESULT and CONCLUSION ... tee 10 SOURCES OF ERRORS and PRECAUTIONS ....... seers TL BIBLIOGRAPHY 121. INTODUCTION WHAT IS DIFFRACTION? Diffraction refers to various phenomena that occur when awave encounters an obstacle or a slit, It is defined as the bending of waves around the corners of an obstacle or aperture into the region of geometrical shadow of the obstacle While diffraction occurs whenever propagating waves encounter such changes, its effects are generally most pronounced for waves whose wavelength is roughly comparable to the dimensions of the diffracting object or slit. If the obstructing object provides multiple, closely spaced openings, a complex pattern of varying intensity can result, This is due to the addition, or interference, of different parts of a wave that travel to the observer by different paths, where different path lengths result in different phases (see diffraction grating and wave superposition). The formalism of diffraction can also describe the way in which waves of finite extent propagate in free space. HISTORY OF DIFFRACTION The effects of diffraction of light were first carefully observed and characterized by Francesco Maria Grimaldi, who also coined the term diffraction, from the Latin difftingere, ‘to break into pieces’, referring to light breaking up into different directions. The results of Grimaldi's observations were published posthumously in 1665. Isaac Newton studied these effects and attributed them to inflexion of light rays, James Gregory (1638-1675) observed the diffraction patterns caused by a bird feather, which was effectively the first diffraction grating to be discovered. Thomas Young performed a celebrated experiment in 1803 demonstrating interference from two closely spaced slits. Explaining his results by interference of the waves emanating from the two different slits, he deduced that light must propagate as waves. Augustin- Jean Fresnel did more definitive studies and calculations of diffraction, made public in 1815 and 1818, and thereby gave great support to the wave theory of light that had been advanced by Christiaan Huygens and reinvigorated by Young, against Newton's particle theory.2. THEORY DIFFRACTION AT A SINGLE SLIT Diffraction at a single slit Consider a plane wavefront incident on the slit AB. Each point on the incident wavefront will be a source of secondary wavelet. These wavelets originate from the wavefront of the same phase. All wavelets originate from a narrow strip on the same phase. All these wavelets tO on the same phase. These wavelength reinforce other’s effect to give imum intensity at O arrive the mi Secondary wavelets diffracted at an angle 0, reaching an general point P on the sereen. The wavelets shall not arrive at P in the same phase because these cover unequal distance on reaching P. If d is the slit width, Path difference between the extreme wavelets is given by BN =dsin@ 5]The condition for the first secondary maximum is a 28 + 2d The condition for the second secondary maximun gat 1 2d s given by m is given by Thus, the condition of secondary maxima is given by 0, = (2n+1) — — —_— > es — —. sit Incoming wave Viewing screen used. a 2d Thus, the condition of secondary maxima is given by a i AL a Gm = Om)aG=nG Fringe Width: The width of the secondary maxima AD B d The width of the central maximum Here:~ Bis the fringe width. Ais the wavelength of the light D is the distance from the _ screen and the slitDIFFRACTION PATTERNS Graph between intensity and Distance in diffraction patterns:- Intensity + Distance Centre of patter Given below are some diffraction patterns:- 1. Sharp edged a7 ae ge - 2. Slit 3. Wire 4. Circular hole3.1. Aim of the experiment To observe the diffraction of light through a single thin slit 3.2. Apparatus Required Two razor blades; Adhesive tapes; a screen a source of monochromatic light (laser pencil); Black paper and a Glass Plate 3.3. Procedure Given below is the procedure to conduct the experiment. (a) A black paper is fixed on the glass plate by using adhesive. (b) Two razor blades are placed so that their sharp edges are parallel and extremely close to each other to form a narrow slit in between, (c) A small slit is cut in betw placed at a s en the sharp edges of blades and is uuitable distance from the wall in a dark room (d) A red laser pencil is used to throw a beam of light on the slit. (e) The diffraction pattern of alternate bright and dark pattern is formed on the screen4. OBSERVATIONS On doing the given experiment we observed that:- 4.1. 4.3. When we used red light, the fringe width observed is more than that of the green light. EXPLANATION: Red light has a greater value of wavelength than green light. We know, fringe width is directly proportional to the wavelength of the light used. Wavelength of green light is 560 nm which is much lesser than that of red monochromatic light of wavelength 700 nm. On replacing the slit by the similar apparatus where the gap between the sharp ends of the razor is more, we get that the fringe width have decreased. EXPLANATION: We know, fringe width is inversely proportional to the width of the slit used. Since on increasing the gap between the two sharp ends of the blade, the gap between them increases, the slit width also increases as it acts as slit for the experiment. On removing the setup away from the wall gradually, the fringe width increases and then finally at very large distance, no pattern is observed. But on bringing the setup near to the wall we find the pattern to diminish. EXPLANATION: We know, fringe width is directly proportional to the distance from the slit to the screen. On increasing the distance of the slit and the screen, the pattern enlarges and then becomes huge so cannot be observed and on decreasing the distance, the width gets minimized.5. RESULT and CONCLUSION Conducting this experiment we get the following results and conclusion:- 5.1. The fringe width of a diffraction pattern increases with increase in the wavelength of the light used. CONCLUSION: B XA .... « (i) 5.2. The diffraction pattern has its fringe width decreasing with increase in width of the slit. CONCLUSION: Bos bee wii) 5.3. The diffraction pattern has its fringe width blurred and enlarged on moving the slit away from the screen and more distinct and reduced on moving the slit towards the screen. CONCLUSION: ~ « D . (ii) COMBINING THE EQUATIONS (i). _4b ba and (iii) we get:- Thus the following experiment is correct and the formula is proved true.6. SOURCES OF ERRORS and PRECAUTIONS All our readings might not be totally scientific and precise with exact understanding because of: 61 6.2. 64. 65. The ends of the razor might be blunt and may not be smooth resulting in distorted pattern formation Air gaps may be present between the glass plates and the black paper which might have hampered the reading. The room was not totally dark. So some portion of the pattern have coincided with the light present in the room and hence showed incomplete patterns For the two cases of different slit width, the razors should be kept in considerable gap difference other wise high fluctuation of readings is possible The source of light may have been disrupted and not stable. This results in incorrect pattern formation.7 BIBLIOGRAPHY The following sources were helpful for me to complete this project:- (a) | PHYSICS NCERT CLASS 12 (b) | PHYSICS NCERT EXAMPLAR 12 (c) Comprehensive Physics Lab Manual 12 (d) _http://www.learncbse.com (c) —_http://www.quora.com