Wave Optics Questions and Answers

A single-slit with a width of 23.2 □m is used to create a pattern on a screen 1.5 maway. Find the angular separation between the two third-order bright fringes (away from the central maximum) in the pattern if a 575 nm light source is used. [T/I=2]

You have a polarizer at 90°, followed by another at 0° and a third at 45° How much light is blocked? A. 100 B. 25 C. 75 D. 50

Wave Superposition/Interference: Use the principle of wave superposition to explain how a propagated wave with a fixed amplitude may increase in amplitude AND decrease in amplitude. Relate this principle to explain how Thomas Young's double-slit experiment proved the wave nature of light.

Consider the following properties of light: I. rectilinear propagation II. Reflection III. Refraction IV. diffraction V. partial reflection-refraction Which of these properties did Huygens have trouble explaining with his theory of light? a. I only b. IV only c. I and IV only d. I and V only

Young's experiment was instrumental in supporting Huygens' wave theory of light. Explain which two conditions Young satisfied in his experiment that were not adequately done before. Describe how he achieved these two conditions. [C=2]

You observe a rocket moving away from you. Compared to the passage of time measured by the watch on your wrist, is the passage of time on the rocket's clock will appear as running with the same speed as while on earth surface faster unpredictable as the speed of the rocket is not mentioned. slower

What is the wavelength, in meters, of a wave with a velocity of 132.9 m/s and a frequency of 134.9 Hz? Round to the nearest tenth. Don't include units.

The diagram above represent the interference pattern produced by Young's Experiment. The row marked A would be the central bright area. What would we call the row labeled C? 2nd order bright fringe 3rd order bright fringe 1st order bright fringe 5th order bright fringe

What is the wavelength of light falling on double slits separated by 2.01 µm, if the third-order minimum is at an angle of 58.0°?

A film of soapy water (n = 1.33) on top of a sheet of crown glass (n = 1.52) has a thickness of 196 nm. What wavelength is most strongly reflected if it is illuminated perpendicular to its surface? (This is the apparent color of the soapy film.) nm

Young's double slit experiment is one of the quintessential experiments in physics. The availability of low cost lasers in recent years allows us to perform the double slit experiment rather easily in class. Your professor shines a green laser (560 nm) on a double slit with a separation of 0.111 mm. The diffraction pattern shines on the classroom wall 3.5 m away. Calculate the fringe separation between the second order and central fringe.

Working in lab class you shine a green laser (5.40 x 10² nm) onto a double slit with a separation of 0.320 mm. What is the distance between the first and second dark fringe that shines on the wall 1.80 m away?

While direct sunlight is unpolarized, light coming from a clear blue sky is linearly polarized to some extent. Assume all the light from the blue sky is linearly polarized in the same direction. Suppose a school library has installed skylight windows in the ceiling of the atrium to allow for natural lighting. The windows are polarized so that the intensity of the light, after passing through the windows, is 62% of the original intensity of the light from the blue sky. What is the angle between the polarization direction of the light and the polarization axis of the windows?

You've entered the Great Space Race. Your engines are hearty enough to keep you in second place. While racing, the person in front of you begins to have engine troubles and turns on his emergency lights that emit at a frequency of 5.570 × 10^14 Hz. If the person in front of you is traveling 2612 km/s faster than you when he turns on his lights, what is the frequency of the emergency lights that you observe when it reaches you in your spaceship? (Enter your answer to four significant figures.)

In a Newton's Ring experiment, the diameter of the 20th dark ring was found to be 5.82 mm and that the 10th ring 3.36 mm . If the radius of the planoconvex lens is 1 m, calculate the wavelength of light used

Find a lighted bare light bulb (in your room or a streetlight, etc). Move around and notice that you can see the lighted bulb from many directions. 1) Now cut a narrow slit along the dashed line below. Hold the paper at arm's length between your eye and the bulb, i.e., you should not look from the edges of the paper. Can you still see the bulb from many directions? Where must you place your eye so you can see the bulb?