WAVE OPTicy NG fi] 2.1. Introduction ‘Light’ is a wonderful gift of nature whicl energy also, for example Sun. Light travels in stra from its straight line path as suggested by wave nature of light. Hene Present chapter deals with the wave nature of light in detail. 2.1.1. Nature of Light Following characteristics of li 1. light travels in a straight line path, 2 light does not require medium to travel, hence it can tr vacuum is ¢ (3 x 10° m/s), 3. light is reflected at mirrors and refracted at lenses, dent at a prism, it is divided into seven colous: red) which is called dispersion of h helps us to see the objects. Light is the source jeht Fine path as per ray optics, but light devas .¢ light possesses wave nature also, ght are important before we go into the detail: avel in vacuum. Speed of light i 4, when fine beam of white light is inci (VIBGYOR-violet, indigo, blue, green, yellow, orange, light, 5, light shows interference, diffraction and pola wave, which supports the concept of wave nature of light, risation, hence light travels in the form of 6. when light of sufficient energy is incident on a metal plate, electrons are emitted from plate This is called photoclectric effect. This effect shows that light possesses particle nature alse Several scientists have put forward their theories in support of above characteristics. [A] Newton's Corpuscular Theory : Newton put forward corpuscular theory of light in 1675 ‘According to Newton, a light source continuousty emits innumerable minute, tight and invisiE particles which are called ‘corpuscles’. When this corpuscle falls on retina of eye, we see the obje Size of corpuscles are different for different colours, Newton’s corpuscular theory was not accep later on because if a light souree continuously emits corpuscles, then mass of source should deere continuously but it does not happen. Apart from this, Newton's corpuscular theory could not exp interference, diffraction and polarisation of light. Speed of light should be greater in a denser medi than in a rarer medium according to Newton, but later on it was proved wrong. ee @ scanned with OKEN Scannerwave Optics 85 : a ’s ioe Theory : Huygen proposed his wave theory of light according to which light is a long : inal wave and travels in all the directions from a source. Since a wave requires medium to travel, so Huygen imagined a hypothetical medium ‘ether’, Since velocity of wave in a medium is given by y Elasticity ofmedium — [E Density ofmedium — Y p- hence Huygen postulated that elastic of ether is very large and density is very small. Huygen successfully explained reflection, refraction and interference of light but he could not explain polarisation and straight line motion of light. Later on Young and Fresnel explained polarisation and straight line motion of light by assuming light a transverse wave. [C] Maxwell's Electromagnetic Theory : ‘According to Maxwell, when a high frequency alternating curreat flows through a circuit, then energy is transmitted in the form of waves in all the directions. Waves contain oscillating clectric field (2) and magnetic field (B) vectors. “Direction of oscillations of electric and magnetic field are perpendicular to each other and wave propagates in a direction perpendicular to both. Maxwell named them “electromagnetic waves’ (em waves), sce Fig. 21." Maxwell also showed that em waves t helped him to conclude that light is an electromagnetic w .d minimum magnitudes simultaneously. But Maxwell could Zeeman effect and Raman effect. + In 1900, Planck put forward a revolutionary theory that t continuous but takes places in the form of small bundles or led ‘quanta’, But later on these energy packets were called f a photon depends on frequency of radiation. If v be the hris Planck's constant. Since a photon is indivisible, ~ nl where his a positive integer. If £ is energy nature, E and B attain their maximum an not explain photoelectric effect, Compton effect, [D] Planck’s Quantum Theory emission of energy of a radiation is no packets of definite amount of energy call ‘photon’. According to Planck, energy © frequency, then energy of a photon is /ru, where therefore energy in a radiation will of a photon, then E=hv 6.6107 Jes. If be the c=vh where Planck constant, /t or so energy of a photon 1 be Av, 2h, 3/70. x Envelope of E B 6 Enaopeots _E Braion a pean Fig. 2.1—Electromagnetic wave ravel with speed of 3x10® m/s in vacuum. These results fave. Electromagnetic waves are transverse in corresponding wavelength of radiation, then el) @ scanned with OKEN Scanner