CHAPTER

Wave Nature of Light & Wave Optics

HUYGEN'S WAVE THEORY INTERFERENCE : YDSE

Huygen's in 1678 assumed that a source emits light • Resultant intensity for coherent sources
in the form of waves. I = I1 + I2 + 2 I1I 2 cos f0
• Each point source of light is a centre of • Resultant intensity for incoherent sources I=I1+I2
disturbance from which waves spread in all
• Intensity µ width of slit µ (amplitude)2
directions. The locus of all the particles of the
medium vibrating in the same phase at a given
( )
2
2
I W a2 I max I1 + I2 æ a + a2 ö
instant is called a wavefront. Þ 1 = 1 = 12 Þ I = =ç 1
è a1 - a 2 ÷ø
( )
2
I2 W2 a2 min I 1 - I2
• Each point on a wave front is a source of new
disturbance, called secondary wavelets. These
nl D
wavelets are spherical and travel with speed • Distance of nth bright fringe x n =
d
of light in that medium.
• The forward envelope of the secondary
wavelets at any instant gives the new wavefront.
• In homogeneous medium, the wave front is
S1
always perpendicular to the direction of wave
q
propagation. d
S2 q
n
dsi

Plane wavefront Spherical wavefront

A B secondary
wave Path difference = nl where n =0, 1, 2, 3, .....
( 2n - 1) lD
Primary
• Distance of nth dark fringe x n =
2d
source
l
Secondary Path difference=(2n–1) where n = 1,2, 3,.....
2
source
lD
• Fringe width b =
d
A' B'
b l
• Angular fringe width = =
D d

I -I
Fringe visibility = I + I ´ 100 %
max min
COHERENT SOURCES : •
max min

Two sources will be coherent if and only if they
produce waves of same frequency (and hence
wavelength) and have a constant phase
difference w.r.t. time.
INCOHERENT SOURCES :
Two sources are said to be incoherent if they
have different frequency and initial phase
difference is not constant w.r.t. time.
• If a transparent sheets of referactive index m and
thickness t is introduced in one of the paths of
interfering waves, optical path will becomes 'mt'
instead of 't'. Entire fringe pattern is displaced by
D ëé( m - 1) t ûù b
= ( m - 1) t towards the side in which
d l
the thin sheet is introduced without any change in
fringe width.
 SHIFTING OF FRINGES POLARISATION OF LIGHT

P If the vibrations of a wave are present in just one

direction in a plane perpendicular to the direction of
y propagation, the wave is said to be polarised or plane
S1 polarised. The phenomenon of restricting the
oscillations of a wave to just one direction in the
S2 transverse plane is called polarisation of waves.

• Path difference produced by a slab Dx = (m–1)t

b D
• Fringe shift, Dx = ( m - 1) t = ( m - 1) t
l d
• Number of fringes shift
shift t ( m-1) D / d ( m - 1) t
= = =
fringe width lD / d l

MALUS LAW
INTEREFERENCE DUE

• For reflected Light :

The intensity of transmitted light passed through an
l
TO THIN FILM

Maxima ® 2mt cosr = (2n+1) analyser is I=I0cos2q

2
Minima® 2mt cosr = nl (q=angle between transmission directions of polariser
• For transmitted light : and analyser)
Maxima ®2mt cosr =nl
l POLARISATION BY REFLECTION
Minima ®2mt cosr =(2n–1)
2 Brewster's Law : The tangent of polarising angle of
(t =thickness of film, m=R.I. of the film) incidence at which reflected light becomes completely
plane polarised is numerically equal to refractive index
DIFFRACTION of the medium. m=tan ip;
ip =Brewster's angle and ip+rp=90°
• Fresnel's diffraction : In Fresnel's diffraction, the
source and screen are placed close to the aperture
POLARISATION BY SCATTERING
or the obstacle and light after diffraction appears
converging towards the screen and hence no lens If we look at the blue portion of the sky through a
is required to observed it. The incident wave fronts polaroid and rotate the polaroid, the transmitted light
are either spherical or cylindrical. shows rise and fall of intensity.
• Fraunhofer's diffraction : The source and
screen are placed at large distances from the Incident sunlight
(Unpolarised)
aperture or the obstacle and converging lens is used
to observed the diffraction pattern. The incident Nitrogen
molecule
wavefront is planar one.
r For minima : a sinqn = nl
l
Scattered light

r For maxima : a sinqn = (2n + 1)

(polarised)

2
2lD
r Linear width of central maxima : Wx =
a
2l
r Angular width of central maxima Wq =
a
r Intensity of maxima
where I0 = Intensity of central maxima
2
é sin (b / 2 ) ù 2p The scattered light screen in a direction perpendicular to
I = I0 ê ú and b = a sin q the direction of incidence is found to be plane polarised.
ë b / 2 û l
 KEY POINTS
• The law of conservation of energy holds good in the phenomenon of interference.
• Fringes are neither image nor shadow of slit but locus of a point which moves such a way that its path
difference from the two sources remains constant.
• In YDSE the interference fringes for two coherent point sources are hyperboloids with axis S1S2.
• If the interference experiment is repeated with bichromatic light, the fringes of two wavelengths will be
coincident for the first time when
n (b)longer = ( n + 1) (b)shorter

• No interference pattern is detected when two coherent sources are infinitely close to each other, because
1
bµ
d
• If maximum number of maximas or minimas are asked in the question, use the fact that value of sinq
d
or cosq can't be greater than 1. nmax = ; Total maxima = 2nmax +1
l

1.22l 1
• Limit of resolution for microscope = =
2µ sin q resolving power

1.22l 1
• Limit of resolution for telescope = =
a resolving power