Diffraction of Light

Phenomenon

6/6/23 Class- 11
Vani Agarwal
Einstein
 Chapter- 1
Introduction To
Diffraction

A-) What is diffraction?

“Diffraction is a slight bending of light as it
passes through the edges of an object. The

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amount of bending depends on the relative size
of the wavelength of light to the size of the
opening. If the opening is much larger than the
light’s wavelength, the bending will be almost
unnoticeable.”
In another words, diffraction is the phenomenon
shown by light. When the wave of light interacts
with the particle in the atmosphere it bends at
the corner and scatters in the area to illuminate
the whole area, this phenomenon is called
diffraction of light. It is the property of light
which is used to explain the various phenomena
that occurs when a wave encounters an obstacle
or a slit. It is defined as the bending of light
around the corners of an obstacle or aperture
into the geometrical shadow of the obstacle.
In classical physics, the diffraction phenomenon
is described as the interference of the waves
according to Huygens - Fresnel principle. These
characteristics behaviors are exhibited when a
wave encounters an obstacle or a slit that is
comparable in size to its wavelength. Diffraction
occurs with all waves, including sound waves,
water waves and electromagnetic
waves such as visible light, rays
and radio waves.

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 If we look clearly at the shadow cast by an
opaque object, close to the region of geometrical
shadow, there are alternative dark and bright
region. This is just due to the phenomena of the
diffraction, which is a general characteristic by
all types of waves.
Since wavelength of light is much smaller than
the dimensions of most of the obstacle, we do
not generally encounter the effects of diffraction
of light in everyday life observation. However,
the finite resolution of our eye or of the optical
fiber instruments such
as telescope or
microscope is limited
due to the
phenomenon of
diffraction.
Since physical objects
have wave like
properties, diffraction
also occurs with
matter and can be studied according to the
principle of quantum mechanics. Italian scientist
Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word
‘diffraction’ and was the first to record accurate
observations of the phenomenon in 1660.

B-) History of diffraction

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The effect of diffraction of light was first carefully
observed and characterized by Francesco Maria
Grimaldi who also coined the term diffraction,
from the Latin diffringere, ‘to break into pieces,
referring to light breaking up into different
directions.
Isaac Newton studied these effects and
attributed them to inflexion of light rays. Thomas
Young performed experiment in 1803
demonstrating interference from two closely
spaced slits. Explaining his results by
interference of the waves emanating from the
two different slits, he deduced that light must
propagate as waves.

C-) When Does

Diffraction
Occurs

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Diffraction occurs whenever propagating
waves encounter change; its effects are
generally most pronounced for waves
whose wavelength is roughly comparable
to the dimensions of the diffracting object
or slit. If the obstructing object provides
multiple, closely spaced openings, a
complex pattern of varying intensity can
result. This is due to the addition, or
interference, of different parts of a wave
that travel to the observer by different
paths, where different path lengths result
in different phases. Then formalism of
diffraction can also describe the way in
which waves of finite extent propagate in
free space.

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 Chapter-2
Understanding
Diffraction
A-) Mechanism
In traditional classical physics diffraction arises
because of the way in which wave propagate;
this is describe
d by the
Huygens
– Fresnel
principle and
the principle of
superposition
of waves. The
propagation of
a wave can be
visualized by considering every particle of the
transmitted medium on a wave front as a point
source for a secondary spherical wave. The wave
displacement at any subsequent point is the
sum of these secondary waves. When waves are
added together, their sum is determined by the
relative phases as well as the amplitudes of the
individual waves so that the summed amplitude
of the waves can have any value between zero
and the sum of the individual amplitudes. Hence,
diffraction patterns usually have a series of

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 maxima and
minima.

B-) Types of
diffraction
 Single
slit

diffraction
One of the classic and most fundamental
concepts involving diffraction of light waves
is the single-slit optical diffraction
experiment, first conducted in the early
nineteenth century. When a light wave
propagates through a slit (or aperture) the
result depends upon the physical size of the
aperture with respect to the wavelength of
the incident beam. This is illustrated in
Figure 3 assuming a coherent,
monochromatic wave emitted from point
source S, similar to light that would be
produced by a laser, passes through
aperture d and is diffracted, with the
primary incident light beam landing at point
P and the first secondary maxima occurring
at point Q.

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As shown in
the left side of
the figure,
when the
wavelength
(λ) is much
smaller than
the aperture
width (d), the
wave simply
travels onward
in a straight
line, just as it would if it were a particle or
no aperture were present. However, when
the wavelength exceeds the size of the
aperture, we experience diffraction of the
light according to the equation:
sinθ = λ/d
Where θ is the angle between the incident
central propagation direction and the first
minimum of the diffraction pattern. The
experiment produces a bright central
maximum that is flanked on both sides by
secondary maxima, with the intensity of
each succeeding secondary maximum
decreasing as the distance from the center
increases. Figure 4 illustrates this point with
a plot of beam intensity versus diffraction
radius. Note that the minima occurring

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 between secondary maxima are located in
multiples of π.
This experiment was first explained by
Augustin Fresnel who, along with Thomas
Young, produced important evidence
confirming that light travels in waves. From
the figures above, we see how a coherent,
monochromatic light (in this
example, laser illumination) emitted from
point L is diffracted by aperture d. Fresnel
assumed that the amplitude of the first
order maxima at point Q (defined as εQ)
would be given by
the equation:
dεQ = α(A/r)f(χ)d
where A is the
amplitude of the
incident wave, r is
the distance
between d and Q,
and f(χ) is a
function of χ, an inclination factor
introduced by Fresnel

 Double slit diffraction

If light consisted of classical particles and
we illuminated two
parallel slits, the
expected pattern on
screen simply be the

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 sum of the two
single slit patterns.
In reality however,
the pattern changes
to one with a series
of light and
dark bands. When
this phenomenon
was studied, it
indicated that light consists of waves as
distribution of brightness can be explained
by the alternately constructive and
destructive interference of wave fronts. The
modern double-slit experiment is a
demonstration that light and matter can
display characteristics of both
classically defined waves and particles. A
simpler form of the double-slit experiment
was performed originally by Thomas
Young in 1801. He believed it demonstrated
that the wave theory of
light was correct, the experiment in which a
wave is split into two separate waves that
later combine into a single wave. Changes
in the path lengths of both waves result in a
phase shift, creating an interference
pattern.

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In the experiment, a coherent light
source, such as a laser, beam, illuminates a
plate with two parallel slits, and the light
passing through the slits is observed on a
screen behind the plate. The wave nature of
light causes the light waves passing through
the two slits to interfere, producing bright
and dark bands on the screen. However, the
light is always found to be absorbed at the
screen at discrete points, as individual
particles (not
waves), the
interference pattern
appearing via the
varying density of
these particle hit son
the screen. Other
entities, such as
electrons, are found
to exhibit the same behavior when fired
towards a double slit. The experiment can
be done with
entities much
larger than
electrons and
photons, although
it becomes more
difficult as size
increases. The
largest entities

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 for which the double-slit experiment has
been performed were molecules that each
comprised 810 atoms, whose total mass
was over 10,000 atomic mass units. The
double slit experiment for its clarity in
expressing the results of quantum
mechanics. Because it demonstrates the
fundamental limitation of the ability of the
observer to
predict experimental results, Richard
Feynman called it “a phenomenon is
impossible to explain.”

 Optical diffraction
Optical diffraction is very often referred to the
bending of light waves around an obstacle.

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 Figure 1
sc hematica
lly

illustrates the concept of generating an optical

diffraction pattern from a monochromatic light. A
light wave is partially blocked by an opaque object
before falling onto a screen as shown in Fig. 1.
According to the established geometrical theories
of optics, the sharp edge of the opaque object
casts a shadow having a fairly sharp outline of the
same shape as the opaque object at point P.
However, by closer inspection, one finds that the
edge of this shadow is not absolutely sharp but
shows a system of dark and bright bands in the
immediate neighborhood of the edge at the point
P. These dark and bright bands are called
diffraction pattern as illustrated in Fig. 1. This
pattern is due to the diffraction of light around the
bottom edge of the opaque object and the result of
interference between the direct and the diffracted
light rays. If the irradiance at any point is either
zero or minimum, it is termed as destructive
interference, which represents a dark fringe and if
it is maximum, it is termed as constructive
interference, which represents a bright fringe.

 Fresnel and Fraunhofer

Diffraction
Fraunhofer Diffraction- When all the light rays passing
through the narrow slit are parallel to each other than the
diffraction which occurs is called Fraunhofer Diffraction. The

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 screen and the source are at an infinite distance from each
other in this type of diffraction. It uses a convex lens to
produce a diffracting pattern.

Fresnel Diffraction- If the light source and screen at

which the diffraction pattern is obtained are at finite
distances then the diffraction is called Fresnel Diffraction. In
Fresnel Diffraction, the shapes obtained from the incident
wave fronts are spherical. In this type of diffraction, a
convex lens is not
required.

C-) Diffraction
events
The amount of bending
which occurs is based on
the wavelength of the light or the objects size in
relation to light's wavelength. In addition to bending,
light is

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 sometimes broken into its basic components. These
components are the colors of the rainbow red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet (ROYGBIV). Red
light has the longest wavelength, while violet has the
shortest. This is why red is typically the prominent color
in a rainbow and appears to be wider than violet light.
Full lunar eclipses permit light waves to bend around
the edges of the moon to let the side facing earth
remain visible, albeit an orange -brown color instead of
the white color. This is a due to the distance of the
moon from earth, allowing the moon to completely
cover the sun.

D-) Diffraction and interference

Diffraction is the bending of waves around an obstacle,
while Interference is the meeting of two waves during the
diffraction process and usually happens when there
are two or more slits. Interference of the light waves with
each other causes the diffracted light to become brighter
or dimmer during the diffraction process because of what
we call destructive and constructive interference. Also, in
diffraction and interference, light energy is redistributed.
If it reduces in one region, producing a dark fringe, it
increases in another region producing a bright fringe.
Hence there is no gain or loss of energy which is
consistent with the principle of conservation of energy .

Chapter- 3
Examples And
Applications of
Diffraction
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The effects of diffraction are often seen
in everyday life.
i. The closely spaced tracks on a CD or DVD act as a
diffraction grating to form the familiar
rainbow pattern seen when looking at a disc.
ii. This principle can be extended to engineer a
grating with a structure such that it
will produce any diffraction pattern
desired; the hologram on a book is an
example.
iii. Iridescent clouds are a
diffraction phenomenon caused by
small water droplets or small ice
crystals individually scattering light.
iv. The setting sun appears to be red because of the
diffraction of light from the dust particle in the
atmosphere.
v. DJ/ Party Lights, Diffraction glasses, for Fireworks,
Light shows, 3d movies, Lasers are based on
diffraction.
vi. Twinkling stars are another example of
diffraction of light. As light from stars
pass through the earth’ s atmosphere
is laden with water vapor, the light
bends around the water droplets
causing the twinkling effect. The light
waves become brighter or dimmer and the colors
constantly change due to constructive and
destructive interference.

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vii. When light passes through solid objects like
diamonds, it diffracts giving diffraction patterns
which depends upon the type, nature and shape of
the material.
viii. Diffraction in the atmosphere by small particles can
cause a bright ring to be visible around a bright
light source like the sun or the moon. A shadow of a
solid object, using light from a compact source,
shows small fringes near its edges. The speckle
pattern which is observed when laser light falls on

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 an optically rough surface is also a diffraction
phenomenon.

Chapter-4
Experiment Analysis of
Diffraction
Single Slit Diffraction
Aim:
Experiment to study
the phenomena
of single slit diffraction.
Requirements:
Two Razor Blade, One
glass electric Bulb,
Filter, Black Paper
Procedure:
a) Hold the two
blades so that the
edges are parallel
and have a narrow
slit in between. This can be done easily with thumb
and forefingers as shown in figure, and cover them
with black paper.

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 b) Keep the slit parallel to the filament of the bulb
which plays the role of first slit, right in front of eye.
c) Adjust the width of the slit and the parallelism of
the edges the pattern the pattern of light and dark
bands is visible.
d) As the position of the bands (except the central
one) depends on the wavelength, they will show
some colors.
e) Use a filter for red and blue to make fringes clearer,
Compare the fringes

Observations:
Since the position of all the bands depends on
wavelength so they will show some color. More the
wavelength, more they will diffract.
Result:
Fringes are wider
for red compared
to blue.
Precaution:
Protect your eyes
by using
spectacles while
performing the
experiment.
Don’t use
sunlight instead of the bulb as sun also produces
infrared rays harmful to our eyes

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. *By repeating the above experiment with aluminum
foil, we can easily show double slit diffraction*

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Than
k
You
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