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The distance between any two identical points is called the wavelength .
Variation
Frequency
The frequency of the wave determines the pitch of the sound. Frequency is a measure of how rapidly the
source of the wave is vibrating. The frequency (f) is defined as the number of complete waves that pass a
point in one second. The units for frequency are Hertz, Hz, which are cycles per second.
Wave equation
The wave equation links the velocity of the wave to the frequency and the wavelength. v = f where v is
the velocity in m/s, f is the frequency in Hz and is the wavelength in metres. When we do this with light
we replace v with c to get c = f .
Prefixes
Just thought I’d put these in to remind you of the range that you could be dealing with.
Name Symbol Size
Peta P 1015
Tera T 1012
Giga G 109
Mega M 106
Kilo K 103
- - 1
milli m 10-3
micro µ 10-6
nano n 10-9
pico p 10-12
femto f 10-15
Worked example 1
Find the frequency of red light with a wavelength of 640 nm. Give your answer in THz.
Worked example 2
Find the wavelength of a 1.5×1017 Hz x-ray. Give your answer in nm.
Diffraction
In sound you gain an appreciation of the effects of diffraction, and the relationship with the wavelength and
gap size. Light can also diffract, though we need very small gaps to observe this since the wavelengths of
visible light are 400 – 700nm.
The amount of diffraction (bending) is given by the value of the ratio where w is either the width of the
w
object or the width of the opening.
If the ratio ≥ 1, then it is complete diffraction, i.e. bending through 1800.
w
Worked example 3
Explain why you are unlikely to observe any diffraction from a red light source being shone through
a door way.
Worked example 4
If a human hair is 4.0 µm, are you likely to see any diffraction effects when light from a 640 nm
LASER is projected onto the hair?
Worked example 5
Why is it that the AM signal of 777 kHz is more likely to be heard around buildings than the 103 MHz
of the FM signal?
Effect of wavelength (Single Slit Diffraction)
Small
Wavelength
420nm
Medium
wavelength
570nm
Large wavelength
680 nm
Small Gap
Med. Gap
Large Gap
As the gap size is increased the line width and separation decreases.
Young’s Double Slit Experiment
Young allowed the light from a distant source to pass through two
narrow parallel slits with a screen placed some distance behind them.
If light was a particle you would predict two bright lines will be formed
on the screen, one for each slit. In fact, Young actually observed a
series of alternating bright and dark lines or fringes.
Interference
When waves pass through each other, they can add together so that the reinforce each other; or they can
cancel each other out. When the waves add together this is called constructive interference, and will
lead to a bright point. When the cancel each, this is called destructive interference and this leads to a
dark point. On the diagram below the blue lines represent the bright spots and the red lines represent the
dark areas.
This is a diagram of two point sources in
phase. The green lines represent crests,
coming through the slits and them
diffracting.
Worked example 6
What is the path difference at the second dark
band out from the centre band?
Centre band
Worked example 7
What would happen to the pattern if the blue light was used?
Worked example 8
What would happen to the pattern if the slits were closer together?
Worked example 9
What would happen to the pattern if the whole prac was done underwater?
Worked example 10
What would happen to the pattern if the screen was taken further back?