Interference and

Diffraction
Young’s Double Slit
Experiment

Thomas Young
(1773 – 1829)
Is light…

a stream of tiny particles?

a wave?
Young’s Double-Slit Experiment (1807)

Particles? Waves?
nb: Constructive and Destructive Interference
 The effects of two particles cannot
add up to zero...
...but two waves that are out of phase
can (destructive interference).
 Interference Patterns
a) Central fringe
Constructive interference
occurs at the centre
point.
The two waves travel the
same distance, therefore
they arrive in phase.
A bright fringe is
observed at point P.
 Interference Patterns
b) First order fringe
The upper wave (S1)
travels further than the
lower one (S2).
If it travels exactly λ
further, then constructive
interference (and,
therefore, a bright
fringe) will occur at point
Q.
 Interference Patterns
c) Dark fringe
If the upper wave travels
exactly half a wavelength
further than the lower,
then the two waves are
180° out of phase.
Therefore, a dark fringe
will appear at point R.
Interference Equation
• Rays coming from slits are parallel (fair if L >> d).
• For constructive interference to occur, path difference
must be integer wavelength.

where
w = fringe spacing (m)
λ = wavelength (m)
D = distance from slits to screen (m)
s = slit separation (m)
Worked example:
If the distance between two slits is 0.050 mm and
the distance to a screen is 2.50 m, find the spacing
between the first and second order bright fringes
for yellow light of 600 nm wavelength.
 Conditions for diffraction patterns
1. Light must be monochromatic, i.e., involve just
a single frequency and single wavelength.

2. Light sources must be coherent; the relative

phase is always the same.

3. Light sources must have the same amplitudes.

What is the most important conclusion from
the Young’s double-slit experiment?

A There are dark and bright fringes.

B Light is a wave.
C The slits must be very close together.
What is the most important conclusion from
the Young’s double-slit experiment?

A There are dark and bright fringes.

B Light is a wave.
C The slits must be very close together.
The red diffraction pattern is slightly more spread out
than the blue one.
What conclusion can be drawn about the wavelengths
of red light and blue light?
Fraunhofer’s Single
Slit Experiment

Joseph von Fraunhofer

1787 –1826
“geometrical” picture breaks down when
slit width ≈ wavelength
According to Huygens’
principle, each portion of
the slit acts as a source of
waves.
The light from one portion
of the slit can interfere
with light from another
portion, causing a
diffraction pattern.
Circular Fringes