Diffraction and Interference Flashcards

Flashcards based on lecture notes about diffraction, interference, and the electromagnetic spectrum.

What happens when you drop a rock into a puddle?

When you drop a rock into a puddle, you create a wave that is circular in shape.

What is Huygens Principle?

Huygens Principle describes how each point on a wave front acts as a source of spherical wavelets, and the new wave front is tangent to all these wavelets.

What is diffraction?

The process by which a beam of light or other system of waves is spread out as a result of passing through a narrow aperture.

What does diffraction often involve?

Diffraction almost always involves interference where waves pass through each other, and the amplitudes build (constructive) or destroy (destructive).

If these are sound waves in a double slit experiment, what would the blue and red spots represent?

The blue spots would be soft, and the red spots would be loud.

If these are light waves in a double slit experiment, what would the blue and red spots represent?

The blue spots would be very dim, and the red spots would be bright.

What happens to red light when it passes through a diffraction grating?

Red light goes straight through and shows up at predictable locations, constructively adding in some places and destructively adding in others.

Why does red light show up further from the center line compared to blue light?

Red waves have a bigger wavelength, meaning constructive interference occurs at further distances.

Why do different colors show up at different locations in an interference pattern?

Different colors have different wavelengths, so they interfere constructively at different locations.

What makes lasers special in the context of interference?

Lasers consist of only one wavelength of light, resulting in precise spots of constructive and destructive interference.

What happens when hydrogen gas in a tube is energized by current?

Energized hydrogen releases specific wavelengths of light (colors) when it releases energy.

List the radiation types in the electromagnetic spectrum.

Radio, microwave, infrared, visible, ultraviolet, X-ray, and gamma ray.