Experiment Name: Resolving power of a plane diffraction grating

1. What is the resolving power?

Resolving power is the ability of an optical instrument, like a microscope or telescope, to
distinguish between two closely spaced objects. It determines the level of detail that can be seen.
Higher resolving power means finer details can be observed.

2. Why is grating used?

A diffraction grating is used to disperse light into its constituent wavelengths or colors, which is
useful for spectroscopic analysis and improving the resolving power of optical instruments.

3. What is grating?
A grating is an optical component containing a large number of parallel slits or grooves that
diffract waves such as light, producing interference patterns.

4. What is diffraction grating?

A diffraction grating is an optical component with a series of parallel, closely spaced lines or
grooves on its surface. It acts like a prism, diffracting and dispersing light into its constituent
wavelengths or colors.

5. What are the conditions of diffraction?

Presence of an obstacle: Light waves must encounter an obstacle or aperture.
Comparable size: The obstacle/aperture size should be comparable to the wavelength of light.
Coherence: The waves should be coherent to produce a clear diffraction pattern.

6. What is diffraction? Classification of diffraction.

Diffraction is the behavior of waves spreading out as they pass through a small aperture or
around small obstacles. It arises due to the wave nature of light and other waves.
Fresnel diffraction: Occurs when the source of the wave and the observing screen are at finite
distances from the diffracting object.
Fraunhofer diffraction: Occurs when the source and screen are positioned at infinite distances
(ideally) from the diffracting object.

7. What is interference? Classification of interference.

Interference is the interaction of two or more waves that combine to form a resultant wave with
an amplitude that can be greater, lower, or equal to the original waves.
Constructive interference: When waves meet in phase (crests align with crests), resulting in a
wave with increased amplitude.
Destructive interference: When waves meet out of phase (crests align with troughs), resulting in
a wave with decreased amplitude.
8. What are the applications of diffraction grating?
Commonly used in monochromators, spectrometers, Lasers, wavelength division multiplexing
devices, optical pulse compression devices and many other optical instruments. CDs and DVDs
are good, easily observable examples of diffraction grating.

9. What is the SI unit of resolving power?

It is the ratio of mean wavelength of a pair of spectral lines and the difference of wavelength
between them. So it has no unit. R = λ ⁄ ⅆλ = nN

10. What type of diffraction occurs in diffraction grating?

Fresnel diffraction

11. How many lines are there in grating?

A diffraction grating 1 cm wide has 1200 lines and is used in second order.

12. What is the principle of grating?

A diffraction grating is able to dispense a beam of various wavelengths into a spectrum of
associated lines because of the principle of diffraction: in any particular direction, only those
waves of a given wavelength will be conserved, all the rest being destroyed because of
interference with one another.

13. Why grating is called super prism?

Gratings are sometimes referred to as "super prisms" because they can disperse light into its
component colors more effectively than traditional prisms. Gratings offer higher resolution,
broader wavelength coverage, efficiency in dispersing light, and versatility in design.

14. Common question for everyone: Theory of light or Nature of light. The limitations and
overcome –
➢ Corpuscular Theory or Particle theory of light.
➢ Wave theory
➢ Electromagnetic theory
➢ Quantum theory.

15. What is grating made up?

Grating can be made of materials such as steel, aluminum, fiberglass.

16.Which is better ‘diffraction grating or prism’?

Gratings are generally considered better than prisms for spectral dispersion due to their
higher resolution, broader wavelength coverage, and efficiency. They offer finer spectral
features, can disperse light across a wider range of wavelengths, and are more versatilein design.
As a result, gratings are commonly preferred in spectroscopy and optical instrumentation
applications.

17. How is diffraction used in real life?

Real-life examples of diffraction are: Red color that is seen during the sunset is caused by the
diffraction of light. Bending of light at the corners of the door or window.

18. Who made the grating first?

In 1785 by David Rittenhouse

19. What in the relation between ‘diffraction and Wavelength’?

The amount of diffraction (the sharpness of the bending) increases with wavelength and
decreases with decreasing wavelength. In fact, when the wavelength of the wave /light i's smaller
than the obstacle, no noticeable diffraction occurs.

20. What is grating pitch?

A diffraction grating consists of a large number of regularly spaced grooves on a
substrate. The distance between adjacent is called adjacent grooves in Called
the Pitch.

21. How is grating prepared?

A diffraction grating is made by making many parallel scratches on the surface of a flat
piece of transparent material. It is possible to put a large number of scratches Pen cm to
the material, e. g. the grating to be used has 6000 lines/cm on it.

22. What the conditions of interference and diffraction?

❖ Interference:
● The sources of the waves mut be coherent, which means that they emit
identical waves with a constant phase difference.
● The waves should be monochromatic - they should be of a single wavelength
● The sources must be small enough that it can be considered as a point source
of light.
● The sources must emit light in the same state of polarization.
❖ Diffraction:
The condition of diffraction is that, the width of the obstacle must be less than or
comparable with the wavelength of the wave. The greater the wavelength of the wave
higher will be its degree of diffraction.

23. What is optics?

Optics is branch of physics which is concerned with light and it's behavioral pattern and
properties. optics is a branch of physics that deals with the determination of Behavior
and the properties of light, long with its interactions with matter and also with in
instruments which answer used to detect it.

24. What is prism in Science?

Prism in optics, a piece of glass or other transparent material cut with precise angles
and plane traces, useful for analyzing and reflecting light. An ordinary triangular Prism
can separate white light into its constituent colors, called a spectrum. Prism is three dimensional
(3D) solid object in which the two ends are identical.

25. How many plane surfaces does a prism typically have?

A prism typically has two plane surfaces.

26. What types of materials are used for producing prisms?

Various materials such as glass, quartz, and acrylic are used for producing prisms.

27. Why is light bent when it is entering into a prism?

Light bends when entering a prism due to refraction, which occurs because light
travels at different speeds through different materials. This bending of light is caused by
the change in the speed of light as it transitions from one medium (such as air) to
another (such as glass) at an angle.

28. Why is a spectrum formed when light passes through a prism?

A spectrum is formed when light passes through a prism due to the phenomenon of
dispersion. Dispersion occurs because different wavelengths of light bend by different
amounts when passing through the prism, causing them to spread out and form a
spectrum of colors.

29. What would happen if we used normal glass instead of a prism?

If we used normal glass instead of a prism, there would be minimal bending or
dispersion of light. As a result, we would not observe a spectrum of colors when light
passes through the glass.

30. What happens when a water drop acts as a prism?

When a water drop acts as a prism, it can disperse light into its component colors,
similar to how a prism works. This phenomenon is responsible for creating rainbows
when sunlight passes through water droplets in the atmosphere.

31.In a spectra or in a spectrum of light we have seen seven colors first red then black and
so on. What is the factor that depends on this matter?
If you are referring to the rainbow, which is a natural spectrum of light often observed
after rain, it typically consists of seven colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo,
and violet. The appearance of these colors is due to the dispersion of sunlight by water
droplets in the atmosphere, with each color corresponding to a different wavelength of
light.
The factors that determine the appearance of the rainbow include the angle of incidence
of sunlight, the size of the water droplets, and the observer's position relative to the sun
and the droplets.

32. Why do we see red color during sunset and sunrise moments?
During sunrise and sunset, the Earth's atmosphere scatters shorter wavelengths of
light (blue and green) more effectively, leaving longer wavelengths (such as red and
orange) to dominate the sky. This scattering phenomenon, known as Rayleigh
scattering, causes the red coloration observed during these times.

33. Why is the sky blue?

The blue color of the sky is primarily due to Rayleigh scattering of sunlight by air
molecules in the Earth's atmosphere. Shorter wavelengths of light, such as blue and
violet, are scattered more effectively by air molecules than longer wavelengths, causing
the sky to appear blue to our eyes.