diffraction

explain the term diffraction

diffraction is the spreading of waves when it passes through a obstacle or a gap

what is constructive/destructive interreference

constructive interference is when waves have the same hz and wavelength and they are in phase (peaks meeting with peaks) so they join up to create a resultant wave and destructive is when they do not have the same wavelength and HZ and they are not in phase so they cancel each other out

what is superposition

superposition is when two waves overlap and they interfere can be destructive or constructive

what is a diffraction grater

a diffraction grater is a small optical object that has thousands of slits inbetween it displaying bright and dark spots called fringes when a light is pointed at it

what are fringes

fringes are the dark and bright spots the dark spots are when the waves are not in phase and destructively interfere and the bright spots is when the waves interfere constructively when they are in phase

what are the lights displayed in a diffraction grater called

these are called maxima and one bright spot is called a maximum (fringe is the same thing but used as a overall when describing what it is scientifically)

explain what the orders mean

the orders are called maximums for singular and the first one is called n=0 which is the central maximum the ones that are n=1, n=2 these are the first, second orders these are the fringes displayed due to constructive interference

what is the formula for diffraction

d sin(θ) = nλ

d=distance between slits

sin(θ)=the angle between central maximum n=0 and the order eg.n=1

n=maximum

λ=wavelength

why is the central maximum n=o always white

the n=0 is always white because all the waves overlap and combine into one causing it to look white to the eye and they all have the same path difference

why do different colors get shown in a diffraction grating experiment

the reason there are different colors is because white light has different wavelengths so when the zero order maximum n=0 is white its because all the wavelengths overlap and the path difference is the same however for different orders the diffraction grater sends each wavelength off at a different angle and interfere constructively so the colors no longer overlap each other and are displayed into multiple colors like red, blue, green producing a spectrum