Chapter 3 - Some Natural Phenomena Due to Sunlight

35-7 lnterference from Thin Films

Exe 1. The rhinestones in costume jewelry are glass with index of refraction 1.50. To make them
more reflective, they are often coated with a layer of silicon monoxide of index of refraction
2.00. What is the minimum coating thickness needed to ensure that light of wavelength 560 nm
and of perpendicular incidence will be reflected from the two surfaces of the coating with fully
constructive interference?

Exe 2. Light of wavelength 624 nm is incident perpendicularly on a soap film (n= 1.33)
suspended in air. What ate the (a) least and (b) second least thicknesses of the film for which the
reflections from the film undergo fully constructive interference?

Exe 3. We wish to coat flat glass (n = 1.50) with a transparent material (n = 1.25) so that
reflection of light at wavelength 600 nm is eliminated by interference. What minimum thickness
can the coating have to do this?

Exe 4. A thin film of acetone (n =1.25) coats a thick glass plate (n = 1.50). White light is
incident normal to the film. In the reflections, fully destructive interference occurs at 600 nm and
fully constructive interference at 700 nm. Calculate the thickness of the acetone film.

Exe 5. A disabled tanker leaks kerosene (n = 1.20) into the Persian Gulf, creating a large slick on
top of the water (n = 1.30). (a) If you are looking straight down from an airplane, while the Sun
is overhead, at a region of the slick where its thickness is 460 nm, for which wavelength(s) of
visible light is the reflection brightest because of constructive interference? (b) If you are scuba
diving directly under this same region of the slick, for which wavelength(s) of visible light is the
transmitted intensity strongest?

Exe 6. A thin film, with a thickness of 272.7 nm and with air on both sides, is illuminated with a
beam of white light. The beam is perpendicular to the film and consists of the full range of
wavelengths for the visible spectrum. In the light reflected by the fllm, light with a wavelength of
600.0 nm undergoes fully constructive interference. At what wavelength does the reflected light
undergo fully destructive interference? (Hint: You must make a reasonable assumption about the
index of refraction.)

Exe 7. In Fig. 35-45, a broad beam of light of wavelength 630 nm is

incident at 90' on a thin, wedge-shaped film with index of refraction of
1.50. An observer intercepting the light transmitted by the film sees 10
bright and 9 dark fringes along the length of the film. By how much
does the film thickness change over this length?

Exe 8. In Fig. 35-46, two rectangular glass plates (n = 1.60) are in

contact along one edge and are separated along the opposite edge (Fig.
35-46). Light with a wavelength of 600 nm is incident perpendicularly onto the top plate. The air
between the plates acts as a thin film. Nine dark fringes and eight bright fringes are observed
from above the top plate. If the distance between the two plates along the separated edges is
creased by 600 nm, how many dark fringes will there then be across the top plate?

Exe 9. In Fig. 35-46, a broad beam of light of wavelength 683 nm is sent directly downward
through the top plate of a pair of glass plates. The plates are 120 mm long, touch at the left end,
and are separated by 48.0 p,m at the right end. The air between the plates acts as a thin film. How
many bright fringes will be seen by an observer looking down through the top plate

Exe 10. In Fig. 35-46, a broad beam of light of wavelength 620 nm is

sent directly downward through the top plate of a pair of glass plates
touching at the left end. The air between the plates acts as a thin film, and
an interference pattern can be seen from above the plates. Initially, a dark
fringe lies at the left end, o bright fringe lies at the right end, and nine
dark fringes lie between those two end fringes. The plates are then very
gradually squeezed together at a constant rate to decrease the angle
between them. As a result, the fringe at the right side changes between
being bright to being dark every 15.0 s. (a) At what rate is the spacing
between the plates at the right end being changed? (b) By how much has the spacing there
changed when both left and right ends have a dark fringe and there are five dark fringes between
them?

Exe 11. In Fig. 35-46, a broad beam of monochromatic light is directed perpendicularly through
two glass plates that are held together at one end to create a wedge of air between them. An
observer intercepting light reflected from the wedge of air, which acts as a thin film, sees 4001
dark fringes along the length of the wedge. When the air between the plates is evacuated, only
4000 dark fringes are seen. Calculate to six significant figures the index of refraction of air from
these data.

Exe 12. Figure 35-47a shows a lens with radius of curvature R lying
on a flat glass plate and illuminated from above by light with
wavelength λ. Figure 35-47b (a photograph taken from above the lens)
shows that circular interference fringes (called Newton's rings) appear,
associated with the variable thickness d of the air fllm between the
lens and the plate. Find the radii r of the interference maxima
assuming r/R <<1.

Exe 13. A Newton's rings apparatus is to be used to determine the

radius of curvature of a lens (see Fig. 35-47 and Problem 75). The
radii of the nth and (n + 20)th bright rings are measured and found to be 0.162 and 0.368 cm,
respectively, in light of wavelength 546 nm. Calculate the radius of curvature of the lower
surface of the lens.

Exe 14. In a Newton's rings experiment (see Problem 75), the radius of curvature R of the lens is
5.0 m and the lens diameter is 20 mm. (a) How many bright rings are produced? Assume that λ=
589 nm. (b) How many bright rings would be produced if the arrangement were immersed in
water (n = 1.33)?
35-8 Michelson's Interferometer

Exe 1. If mirror M2 in a Michelson interferometer (Fig. 35-

23) is moved through 0.233 mm, a shift of 792 bright
fringes occurs. What is the wavelength of the light
producing the fringe pattern?

Exe 2. The element sodium (Fig. 35-23) can emit light at

two wavelengths, λ1 = 589.10 nm and λ2 = 589.59 nm.
Light from sodium is being used in a Michelson
interferometer (Fig. 35-23). Through what distance must
mirror M2 be moved if the shift in the fringe pattern for one
wavelength is to be 1.00 fringe more than the shift in the
fringe pattern for the other wavelength?

Exe 3. A thin film with index of refraction n = 1.40 is

placed in one arm of a Michelson interferometer,
perpendicular to the optical path. If this causes a shift of 7.0
bright fringes of the pattern produced by light of
wavelength 589 nm, what is the film thickness?

Exe 4. In Fig. 35-49, an airtight chamber of length d = 5.0 cm is placed in one of the arms of a
Michelson interferometer. (The glass window on each end of the chamber has negligible
thickness.) Light of wavelength λ = 500 nm is used. Evacuating the air from the chamber causes
a shift of 60 bright fringes. From these data and to six significant figures, find the index of
refraction of air at atmospheric pressure

36-3 Diffraction by a Single Slit Locating the Minima

Exe 1. A single slit is illuminated by light of wavelengths ,λ a and λb, chosen so that the first
diffraction minimum of the λa component coincides with the second minimum of the λ b
component. (a) If λb = 350 nm, what is λa? For what order number mb (if any) does a minimum of
the λb component coincide with the minimum of the λ a component in the order number (b) m a = 2
and ma = 3?

Exe 2. Monochromatic light of wavelength 441 nm is incident on a narrow slit. On a screen 2.00
m away, the distance between the second diffraction minimum and the central maximum is 1.50
cm. (a) Calculate the angle of diffraction 0 of the second minimum. (b) Find the width of the slit.

Exe 3. Light of wavelength 633 nm is incident on a narrow slit. The angle between the first
diffraction minimum on one side of the central maximum and the first minimum on the other
side is 1.20o. What is the width of the slit?

Exe 4. What must be the ratio of the slit width to the wavelength for a single slit to have the first
diffraction minimum at θ= 45o?

Exe 5. A plane wave of wavelength 590 nm is incident on a slit with a width of a= 0.40 mm. A
thin converging lens of focal length +70 cm is placed between the slit and a viewing screen and
focuses the light on the screen. (a) How far is the screen from the lens? (b) What is the distance
on the screen from the center of the diffraction pattern to the first minimum?

Exe 6. The distance between the first and fifth minima of a single-slit diffraction pattern is 0.35
mm with the screen 40 cm away from the slit, when light of wavelength 550 nm is used. (a) Find
the slit width. (b) Calculate the angle 0 of the first diffraction minimum.

Exe 7. A slit 1.00 mm wide is illuminated by light of wavelength 589 nm. We see a diffraction
pattern on a screen 3.00 m away. What is the distance between the first two diffraction minima
on the same side of the central diffraction maximum

36-5 Intensity in Single-Slit Diffraction, Quantitatively

Exe 1. Monochromatic light with wavelength 53S nm is incident on a slit with width 0.025 mm.
The distance from the slit to a screen is 3.5 m. Consider a point on the screen 1.1 cm from the
central maximum. Calculate (a) θ for that point, (b) α, and (c) the ratio of the intensity at that
point to the intensity at the central maximum.

36-7 Diffraction by a Double Slit

Exe 1. In a double-slit experiment, the slit separation d is 2.00 times the slit width w. How many
bright interference fringes are in the central diffraction envelope?

Exe 2. A beam of light of a single wavelength is incident perpendicularly on a double-slit

arrangement. The slit widths are each 46 p,m and the slit separation is 0.30 mm. How many
complete bright fringes appear between the two first-order minima of the diffraction pattern?

Exe 3. Suppose that the central diffraction envelope of a double-slit diffraction pattern contains
11 bright fringes and the first diffraction minima eliminate (are coincident with) bright fringes.
How many bright fringes lie between the first and second minima of the diffraction envelope?
Exe 4. Two slits of width a and separation d are illuminated by a coherent beam of light of
wavelength λ. What is the linear separation of the bright interference fringes observed on a
screen that is at a distance D away?

Exe 5. How many bright fringes appear between the first diffraction-envelope minima to either
side of the central maximum in a double-slit pattern if λ= 550 nm, d = 0.150 mm, and a = 30.0
μm? (b) What is the ratio of the intensity of the third bright fringe to the intensity of the central
fringe?

Exe 6. (a) In a double-slit experiment, what ratio of d to a causes diffraction to eliminate the
fourth bright side fringe? (b) What other bright fringes are also eliminated?

36-8 Diffraction Gratings

Exe 1. Visible light is incident perpendicularly on a grating with 315 rulings/mm. What is the
longest wavelength that can be seen in the fifth-order diffraction?

Exe 2. A grating has 400 lines/mm. How many orders of the entire visible spectrum (400-700
nm) can it produce in a diffraction experiment, in addition to the m = 0 order

Exe 3. A diffraction grating 20.0 mm wide has 6000 rulings. Light of wavelength 589 nm is
incident perpendicularly on the grating. What are the (a) largest, (b) second largest, and (c) third
largest values of θ at which maxima appear on a distant viewing screen?

Exe 4. In a certain two-slit interference pattern, 10 bright fringes lie within the second side peak
of the diffraction envelope and diffraction minima coincide with two-slit interference maxima.
What is the ratio of the slit separation to the slit width?

Exe 5. A diffraction grating having 180 lines/mm is illuminated with a light signal containing
only two wavelengths, λ1 = 400 nm and λ2 = 500 nm. The signal is incident perpendicularly on
the grating. (u) What is the angular separation between the second-order maxima of these two
wavelengths? (b) What is the smallest angle at which two of the resulting maxima are
superimposed? (c) What is the highest order for which maxima for both wavelengths are present
in the diffraction pattern?

Exe 6. A diffraction grating is made up of slits of width 300 nm with separation 900 nm. The
grating is illuminated by monochromatic plane waves of wavelength λ= 600 nm at normal
incidence. (a) How many maxima are there in the full diffraction pattern? (b) What is the angular
width of a spectral line observed in the first order if the grating has 1000 slits?

Exe 7. Light of wavelength 600 nm is incident normally on a diffraction grating. Two adjacent
maxima occur at angles given by sinθ = 0.2 and sinθ= 0.3. The fourth-order maxima are missing.
(a) What is the separation between adjacent slits? (b) What is the smallest slit width this grating
can have? For that slit width, what are the (c) largest, (d) second largest, and (e) third largest
values of the order number m of the maxima produced by the grating
Exe 8. Assume that the limits of the visible spectrum are arbitrarily chosen as 430 and 680 nm.
Calculate the number of rulings per millimeter of a grating that will spread the first-order
spectrum through an angle of 20.0o.