EASWARI ENGINEERING COLLEGE

(Autonomous)
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS
QUESTION BANK

Subject code : 191PYB101T Degree/Branch : B.E/B.Tech.

Subject Name : Engineering Physics Year/Sem/Sec : I/I

UNIT I - PROPERTIES OF MATTER

PART A QUESTIONS

1. Define Elasticity.
It is the property of the body by virtue of which it tends to regain its original shape or
size after the removal of deforming external forces.

2. Define stress and strain and write down their units.

Stress: Stress is defined as the restoring force per unit area which brings back the
body to its original state from the deformed state.

Strain: Strain is defined as the change in dimension produced by the external force on
the body. It can also be defined as the ratio of the change in dimension to the original
dimension. Strain has no unit.

3. What is meant by shearing stress or tangential stress?

When a force is applied along the surface of the body, then the stress applied is
called tangential stress.

4. Define shearing strain.

It is defined as the angular deformation produced in the body due to the application of
external tangential forces on it.

5. State Hooke’s law.

According to this law, stress is directly proportional to the strain produced within

elastic limit. Stress = E x Strain (or) E= Stress / Strain. Where ‘E’ is a constant
called ‘Modulus of Elasticity’.

6. Define Young’s Modulus.

It is defined as the ratio between the longitudinal stress to the longitudinal strain,

within the elastic limit.

7. Define Rigidity Modulus.
It is defined as the ratio between the tangential stress to the Shearing strain, within the

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 elastic limit.

8. Define Bulk Modulus.

It is defined as the ratio between the volume stress to the volume strain, within the
elastic limit.

=
9. What is Poisson’s ratio?
Within the elastic limit, the lateral strain is proportional to the linear strain. i.e., the
ratio of the lateral strain β and linear strain α is a constant for the given material.

is a constant.
10. Give the relation between three moduli.

Where, Y is Young’s modulus, K is bulk modulus and n is rigidity modulus

11. What do you infer from Stress – Strain diagram?

From Stress – Strain diagram, we can infer the following points.
a) The Stress is directly proportional to the strain, within elastic limit.
b) It distinguishes the elastic and plastic limit of a material.
c) It determines the ultimate strength of the material.
d) The Stress – Strain diagram also helps as to distinguish the material based on the
e) properties such as ductility and brittleness.

12. Mention the factors affecting the elasticity of a material.

Temperature
Impurities
Hammering, Rolling and annealing
Stress

13. How do temperature and impurity in a material affect elasticity of the

materials?
i) Effect of temperature: The rise in temperature decreases elasticity and vice.
Example: The carbon filament becomes plastic at higher temperatures.
ii) Effect of impurities: The addition of impurities produces variation in the elastic
property of the materials. The increase and the decrease in elasticity depend on the
type of impurity added to it.
Example: When potassium added to gold, the elastic property of gold increases.

14. What are the effects of hammering and annealing on elasticity of a material?
While being hammered or rolled, crystal grains break into smaller units resulting in
increase of their elastic properties. While annealing (that is, heating and then cooling
gradually) constituent crystals are uniformly oriented and form larger crystal grains,
which results in decrease in their elastic properties.

15. What is mean by twisting couple?

Torsional rigidity is also known as the twisting couple per unit twist. As the name

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 suggests it is the amount of twisting couple or torque required to twist the object by
one-unit angle, i.e., one radian.

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16. When a wire is bent back and forth it becomes hot. Why?
When a wire is bent back and forth heat is generated due to the area of the elastic
hysteresis and frictional forces. Hence it becomes hot.

17. Define a beam.

A beam is defined as a rod or a bar of uniform cross section whose length is very
much greater than its other dimensions such as breadth and thickness.

18. Explain neutral axis (or) how are the various filaments of a beam affected
when the beam is loaded?
The middle layer (or) filament of a beam which remains unaltered even with the
presence of load on the beam is called neutral axis. Filaments which are lying above it
are elongated and those are lying below it are compressed.

19. Explain bending moment of beam.

The moment of the couple due to the elastic reactions (restoring couple) which balances
the external couple due to applied load is called the bending moment.

20. What is a Cantilever?

It is a beam fixed at one end and loaded at the other end.

PART B QUESTIONS

1. Describe with necessary theory, the method to determine the Young’s modulus of
the material of a rectangular bar by uniform bending.

2. What is cantilever? Obtain the equation for the depression at the loaded end of a
cantilever whose other end is fixed assuming that its own weight is not effective in
bending.

3. Describe an experiment to determine the Young’s modulus of the beam using bending of
beams?

4. Derive an expression for the internal bending moment of a beam terms of radius of
curvature?

5. A curricular and a square cantilever are made of same material and have equal area of
cross- section and length. Find the ratio of their depressions for a given load.
a) Derive an expression for the elevation for the center of cantilever which is loaded
at both ends.
b) Describe an experiment to determine Young’s modulus of a beam by uniform
bending.

6. Derive an expression for depression at the free end of a cantilever, due to load.
Describe an experiment to determine the Young’s modulus of the cantilever material
using this expression.

7. Give the theory of torsion pendulum and describe a method to find the moment of
Inertia of the disc and the rigidity modulus of the material of a wire using torsion
Pendulum?

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 UNIT II- SOUND WAVES AND VIBRATIONS

PART A QUESTIONS
1. What are factors affecting the acoustic quality of a building?
● Reverberation time
● Focusing and interference
● Echoes and Echelon effect
● Resonance
● Extraneous noise

2. If the reverberation time is lower than the critical value, how will it affect
the acoustical quality of a building?
When the reverberation time is lower than the critical value, sound becomes inaudible by
the observer and the sound is said to be dead and if the reverberation time is too large,
echoes are produced. Therefore, the reverberation time should have some optimum
value.

3. Define reverberation time of an auditorium.

The persistence of audible sound, even after the source has stopped to emit the
sound is called reverberation. The time during which the sound persists in the hall is
called reverberation time.

4. Define absorption coefficient of a material.

The absorption coefficient of a material is defined as the ratio of the sound energy
absorbed by the surface to that of the total sound energy incident on the surface.

The absorption coefficient can also be defined as the rate of sound energy absorbed by
a certain area of the surface to that of an open window of same area.

5. Write a note on noise pollution.

Noise pollution is one of the major factors which occur in our day to day life. The noise
produced in a particular area creates harmful effects to the human being. It produces
mental fatigue and irritation. It diverts our concentration on work hence reduces the
efficiency of the work. It sometimes affects the nervous system and lowers the
restorative quality of sleep, some strong noises lead to damage the ear drum and makes
the worker hearing impaired. Hence noise pollution should be reduced.

6. What is loudness? Give the relation between loudness and intensity of

sound (or) State Weber-Fechner law.
Loudness of sound is defined as the degree of sensation produced on the ear. This cannot
be measured directly. So that it is measured in terms of intensity. Loudness is
proportional to the logarithmic value of intensity.

This is also known as Weber-Fechner’s Law.

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7. Define sound intensity level and write its unit
Intensity level (IL) is equal to the difference in loudness, which is given by

Where, L1 is the loudness of any sound of intensity I1 and L0 is the loudness corresponding to
the standard reference intensity I0. Unit for intensity level is Bel.

8. Mention any four sound absorbing materials?

(1)Wooden floor (2) Glass (3) Carpets (4) Felt

9. We hear sound from a vibrating blade. If that sound is to be made louder,

what should be done?
The sound from a vibrating blade can be made louder by the following ways,
The size of the blade can be increased
A Resonant body should be kept near the vibrating blade by removing the sound
absorbing material nearby the blade.

10. What is meant by quality of sound?

The quality of sound is that characteristic which enables us to distinguish between two
notes of the same pitch and loudness produced by two different voices. The loudness
and pitch tell us whether it is a voice from a man or a woman. The quality will help us to
recognize the particular person who is producing the sound without seeing him.

11. Give the relation between loudness and intensity?

Sl. No. Loudness Intensity

1. It is degree of sensation. It is It is the energy of sound wave crossing per

produced in the ear. unit time through a unit area at right angles to
the direction of propagation.

2. It is physiological quantity It is purely physical quantity

3. It is difficult to measure. It can be easily and accurately measured.

12. What are units of loudness? Define them.

There are two units of loudness viz., Decibel, Phon and Sone.
Decibel: It is the smallest unit compared to bel. It is standard unit used to measure the
loudness. One decibel is equal to one tenth of bel.
Phon: The measure of loudness is phon of any sound is equal to the loudness is
decibels of an equally loud pure tone of frequency 1000Hz.
Sone: The measure of loudness in sone of any sound is equal to the loudness of that
particular sound, having a loudness of 40 phons.

13. State Sabine’s law.

It states that the reverberation time is the time taken by the sound to fall from one
millionth of its original intensity, after the source of sound is stopped.

The reverberation time can be related as

Where, V is the volume of the hall, a is the average absorption coefficient and S is the
total surface area

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14. What is meant by optimum reverberation time? Give its value for concert halls
and theatres.
Optimum reverberation time is the persistent time of sound in hall, without causing
echoes (or) inaudibility.
For concert halls it should be 0.5 seconds.
For small theatres it should be between 1.1 to 1.5 seconds and for large theatres it
should be between 1.5 to 3 seconds.

15. Give the importance of Sabine’s law for a good auditorium.

The Sabine’s Law can be used to calculate the reverberations time of an auditorium. It is
also used to find the absorption coefficient of any unknown material.
The reverberation time should not be too short and also should not be too long. If
the reverberation time is too short, the sound may not be sufficiently loud in all portions
of the hall. If it is too long, echoes will be produced, so optimum value for a good
auditorium.

16. What is meant by echelon effect?

If there is a regular repetition of echoes of the original sound received by the observer
due to the presence of flight of stairs or set of railings, then the effect is called echelon
effect.

17. What is meant by resonance effect in acoustics?

Sometimes, due to lack of rigidity the window-panes or sections of the wooden portions
may vibrate with some audio frequency. When this frequency is equal to the frequency of
original sound, ‘Resonance’ will occur. This matching of frequency of any sound with the
standard sound is called Resonance.

18. State the conditions of good acoustics for an auditorium.

Sound should be sufficiently loud and intelligible in every part of the auditorium. i.e.,
optimum reverberation time should be maintained.
Sound of each syllable should decay soon so that the succeeding syllable may be heard
distinctly. (i.e.) the auditorium must be free from excessive reverberation.
There should not be any undesirable focusing of sound in any part of the hall. There
should not be any zone of silence or regions of poor audibility anywhere inside the hall.
Resonance should be avoided and noises should be reduced.
Echoes should be avoided by covering the walls and ceilings with suitable absorbent
materials.

19. Name the methods by which ultrasonic waves are produced.

In general, there are three methods of producing ultrasonic waves. There are, Mechanical
generators (or) Galton’s Whistle method. Magnetostriction method, and Piezo – electric
method.

20. Are the ultrasonics waves electromagnetic waves? Give proper reasons to your
answer.
Ultrasonic waves are not electromagnetic waves because they are sound waves, which
does not consist electric and magnetic vectors as in electromagnetic waves.

21. What are the disadvantages of Magnetostriction oscillator?

It can produce frequencies up to 3 MHz (3 x106Hz) only
It cannot withstand at high temperatures, since the frequency of oscillation depends
greatly on temperature, and
There will be loss of energy due to hysteresis and eddy current during the frequency of
oscillations.

22. What is the main difference in the quality of ultrasonic waves produced by Piezo

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 – electric and Magnetostriction method?

S.No Piezo – electric method Magnetostriction method

1 It generates very high frequencies It generates low frequency ultrasonic
(500MHz). waves (3 MHz).
2 We can obtain constant frequency We cannot obtain constant frequency
of ultrasonic waves. of ultrasonic waves.
3 The peak of resonance curve is The peak of resonance curve is
narrow. broad.
4 Frequency of oscillation is Frequency of oscillation is depends of
independent of temperature. temperature.

23. Mention the properties of Ultrasonics.

● The frequency of an ultrasonic wave is greater than 20,000 Hz.
● It travels longer distance in the medium without any loss.
● It travels as well-defined sonic beam.
● Its velocity is constant for a homogeneous medium.
● It has a many modes of vibrations such as longitudinal, shear and different modes of
surface vibrations.
● It undergoes reflection and refraction at the interface, due to the change in elastic and
physical properties of the medium.

24. Why not Ultrasonics be produced by passing high frequency alternating current
through a loud speaker?
At such high frequencies inductive react and is so high that no current flows through
the coil of the loud speaker and hence, ultrasonic waves cannot be produced.

25. What is Magnetostriction effect? (or) What is the basic principle of

Magnetostriction generator?
When a magnetic field is applied parallel to the length of ferromagnetic rod made of
materials such as iron or nickel makes its length changes. This effect is known as
Magnetostriction effect. Nickels, alloys of nickel and cobalt ferrites are widely used as
magnetostrictive materials.

26. Give important applications of Ultrasonics.

● Detection of flaws in metals.
● SONAR for detection of submarines, ice bars and other objects in ocean.
● Soldering and metal cutting.
● Bloodless surgery in medicine.
● Diagnostic applications such as detection of tumors and other defects in human
body, and
● Ultrasonic Doppler technique to measure the flow of velocity of blood in different
parts of the body.

27. What are the merits of piezo – electric oscillator?

It is more effective than Magnetostriction oscillator. Almost all the modern ultrasonic
generators are of this type only.
Ultrasonic frequencies as high as 5 x 108 or 500 MHz can be obtained with this
arrangement
The output of this oscillator is very high, and
The oscillator is not affected by temperature and humidity.

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28. What are the demerits of the piezo – electric oscillator?
Piezo – electric crystals are very expensive and
Cutting and shaping the piezo electric crystal are not easy.

29. What is an acoustic grating?

When ultrasonic waves travel through a transparent liquid, due to alternating
compression and rarefaction, longitudinal stationary waves are formed in a liquid, it
serves as a diffraction grating called acoustic grating.

30. What are ultrasonic waves?

Sound waves having frequency greater than 20 KHz are called ultrasonic waves.

31. What is piezo-electric effect?

When pressure is applied to one pair of opposite faces of crystals like quartz, equal and
opposite charges appear across its other opposite faces. This is known as piezo-electric
effect.

32. What is Phonocardiogram?

Phonocardiogram is an instrument, which graphically records the heart sound. The
presences of higher frequencies in the phonocardiogram indicate a possible heart
disorder.

33. Where is the transducer placed for the echocardiography?

The transducer is placed between the third and fourth ribs on the chest wall, where
there is no lung between the skin and the heart.

34. Give some of the important industrial application ultrasonic.

● Ultrasonic drilling
● Ultrasonic welding
● Ultrasonic soldering
● Ultrasonic flaw detection
● Ultrasonic thickness determination, and
● Ultrasonic cleaning.

PART B QUESTIONS

1. Derive an expression for the reverberation period of an auditorium and explain how this
can be used for determining the absorbing power of surface involved.

2. Write in detail about the factors affecting architectural acoustics and their remedies.

3. Discuss the salient points associated with acoustics of auditorium.

4. Discuss the factors, reverberation, resonance, echelon effect, focusing and reflection
that affect the acoustics in hall and the remedies for them.

5. The volume of a room is 1500 m3. The wall area of the room is 260 m2, the floor area is
1402 and the ceiling area is 140 m2. The average sound absorption co-efficient for wall
is 0.03, for the ceiling is 0.80 and for the floor is 0.06. Calculate the average absorption
co-efficient and the reverberation time.

6. What is reverberation time? Using Sabine’s formula explains how the sound
absorption coefficient of material is determined.

7. Derive the expressions for growth and decay of sound energy.

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8. Define reverberation time and absorption coefficient.

9. Derive Sabine’s formula for the Reverberation time of a Hall.

10. Derive expressions for growth and decay of energy density inside a hall and hence
deduce Sabine’s formula for the reverberation time of the hall.

11. Describe Piezo electric method of producing ultrasonic waves.

12. Explain how ultrasonic waves can be produced by using Piezo electric crystal and write
any four applications of Ultrasonics.

13. What are Magnetostriction and Piezo electric effects? Write down the complete
experimental procedure with a neat circuit diagram of producing ultrasonic waves by
Magnetostriction effect.

14. Describe the production of ultrasonic waves by Magnetostriction or Piezo electric

method and mention some of its applications.

15. Describe the method to produce ultrasonic.

16. What are the applications of Ultrasonics in industry?

17. What are ultrasonic waves? Explain with neat circuit, the generation of ultrasonic
waves using piezo electric piezo electric oscillator.

18. Define Magnetostriction effect and explain how it can be applied for the production of
Ultrasonics using Magnetostriction oscillator.

19. Explain with neat sketch, the construction and production of ultrasonic waves using
Piezoelectric oscillator.

20. Give the application of Ultrasonics in engineering field.

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 UNIT III - THERMAL PHYSICS

PART A QUESTIONS

1. Define coefficient of linear expansion.

The coefficient of linear expansion of a solid is the increase in length of unit length of
the solid when its temperature is raise by 1K. It is denoted by the letter α.

2. Define superficial expansion.

The coefficient of superficial expansion of a solid is the increase in area produced in unit
area of the solid when the temperature is raised by 1 K. It is denoted by the letter β.

3. Define is coefficient of cubical expansion.

Coefficient of cubical expansion of a solid is the increase in volume of unit volume of a
solid for 1 K rise of temperature. It is denoted by the letter λ.

4. Define coefficient of apparent expansion of the liquid.

It is the observed increase in volume of unit volume of the liquid per degree Kelvin rise of
temperature. It is denoted by λα.

5. Define coefficient of real expansion of liquid.

It is the real increase in volume of unit volume of a liquid per degree Kelvin rise of
temperature. It is denoted by λr.

6. What is Expansion joint?

An expansion joint or movement joint is an assembly designed to safely absorb the heat
induced expansion or contraction of pipeline, duct or vessel. It helps to hold parts
together.

7. What is bimetallic strip?

A bimetallic strip means a strip made of two metals pined together. It is like compound
bar. It operates on the principle that different metals have different coefficients of
expansion.

8. What is thermal insulation?

It will resist the flow of heat to and from a body. It is a material that reduces the rate of
heat flow.

9. Define refrigerator.
It is a machine which produced cold. It is used to remove heat from the refrigerated
space and reject it to atmosphere. Hence, it maintains the temperature below the
surrounding atmosphere.

10. What are heat exchanges?

They are devices used to transfer heat between two or more fluid streams at different
temperatures.

11. Define oven.

An oven is thermally insulated chamber used for heating, baking or drying of a substance
and most commonly used for cooking Kilns and furnaces are special-purpose ovens, used
in pottery and metalworking, respectively.

12. What is solar power?

The energy ﴾ heat and light) obtained from the sun, is called solar energy. Sun is the
source of all energy. Sunlight contains infrared radiations in large proportion, and these
infrared rays heats all objects on which they fall.

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13. What are the basic entities responsible for thermal conduction of a solid?
● Area of cross section (A)
● Temperature difference between the hot and cold layers of the solid (θ 1-θ2)
● Time of Conduction (t)
● Thickness of the solid (x)

14. Define Coefficient of thermal conductivity?

The Coefficient of thermal conductivity is defined as the amount of heat conducted per
second normally across the unit area of cross section, maintained at unit temperature

gradient.
15. Distinguish between conduction and convection?
Conduction: It is the process in which the heat is transferred from hot end to cold end
without the actual movement of the particles.
Convection: It is the process in which the heat is transmitted from hot end to cold end
without the actual movement of the particles.
16. Define Radiation and give example.
It is the process in which the heat is transmitted from one place to another without the
necessity of the intervening medium.
Example: The rays from the Sun reflect the Earth.

17. What is meant by Temperature gradient?

The rate of fall of temperature with respect to the distance is called as temperature
gradient. In general, it is denoted as . The negative sign indicates the fall of the
temperature with increases in distance.

18. Define thermal diffusivity.

It is defined as the ratio of thermal conductivity to the thermal capacity per unit volume

of the material
Since thermal capacity is the product of specific heat capacity(s) and density of the

material (ρ), we can write

19. Define Newton’s Law of Cooling?

Newton’s Law: The rate of loss of heat of the body is directly proportional to the
temperature difference between the body and its surrounding, of same nature.

20. Derive the unit for Thermal Conductivity?

The Thermal Conductivity of the material is

The unit of thermal Conductivity is

21. Give the methods of determining the thermal conductivity of good and bad
conductors.
The methods of determining the thermal conductivity of good and bad conductors are:
● Searle’s Method–Good conductors like metallic rod
● Forbes’s method–for determining absolute conductivity of metals
● Lee’s disc method–for bad conductors
● Radial flow method-for bad conductors

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22. What is the basic principle employed in lee’s disc Method for bad conductor?
The given bad conductor is taken in the form of disc and is placed in between the disc
and the chamber. The steam is passed through bad conductor. The steam is passed
through bad conductor. Heat conducted through the bad conductor per second is
calculated. Amount of heat lost per second by the disc is also calculated. When steady
state is reached,
The amount of heat conducted through bad conductor per sec=Amount of heat lost per
sec by the disc.
23. Why the specimen used to determine thermal conductivity of a bad conductor
should have larger area and smaller thickness?
For bad conductor with a smaller thickness and larger area of cross section, the amount
of heat conducted will be more.

24. What is meant by thermal resistance?

The thermal resistance of a body is measure of its opposition to the flow of heat through
it. (i.e.) everybody possesses some resistive power when it is subjected to heat. This
resistive power is termed as thermal resistance.

PART B QUESTIONS

1. Discuss Prevost theory of heat exchanges?

2. Explain some practical uses of thermal expansion of substances?

3. Describe the Forbes method to determine the thermal conductivity of good conductors?

4. Derive the equation for heat conduction along a bar and solve it for steady state condition.

5. Derive an equation for one-dimensional flow of heat and solve it under steady state
condition.

6. Derive an expression for the quantity of heat flow through a metal slab whose faces are
kept at two different temperatures. Use this expression to determine the thermal
conductivity of a bad conductor by Lee’s disc method.

7. Describe Lee’s disc method to find the co-efficient of thermal conductivity of a bad
conductor.

8. Derive an expression for the flow of heat through a compound media.

9. Explain the working of heat exchangers. Define refrigerator. Describe principle and
working of a refrigerator.

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 UNIT IV - QUANTUM MECHANICS

PART A QUESTIONS

1. Explain Planck’s hypothesis or what are the postulates of Planck’s quantum

theory?
a) The black body radiation chamber is filled up not only with radiations but also with a
large number of oscillating particles. The particles can vibrate in all possible
frequencies.
b) The frequency of radiation emitted by an oscillator is the same as that of the frequency
of that vibrating particle.
c) The oscillatory particles cannot emit energy continuously. They will radiate energy only
in the form of a discrete packet of energy, i.e., a small unit called quantum or photon,
and
d) The vibrating particles can radiate energy when the oscillators move from one state to
another. The radiation of energy is not continuous, but discrete in nature. The values of
energy of the oscillators are like 0, h, 2h, 3h…nh.

2. What is meant by blackbody radiation?

A perfect black body is one that absorbs radiation of all wavelengths incident on it.
Further, such a body cannot transmit or reflect any radiation and therefore it appears
black. A black body can radiate energy in all possible wavelengths when it is heated to a
suitable temperature. The radiation emitted from black body is known as black body
radiation or total radiation.

3. What is the physical significance of a wave function?

It relates the particles and wave nature of matter elastically.
It is a complex quantity and hence we cannot measure it.
The square of the wave function is a measure of the probability of finding the particle at a
particular position. It cannot predict the exact location of the particle.
The wave function is a complex quantity, where as the probability is a real and positive
quantity. Therefore, position probability density P(r,t) is defined as the product of the
wave function and its conjugate as,

i.e.,
The probability of finding the particle within a volume of dτ is

, where
If the particle is definitely present, then its probability value is one,

i.e.,
The wave function has no physical meaning, where as the probability density has a
definite physical meaning.

4. What is wave function?

A variable quantity that characterizes de Broglie waves is known as wave function and is
denoted by the symbol ψ. The value of the wave function associated with a moving
particle at point (x, y, z) and time t gives the probability of finding the particle at that time
and at that point.

5. What is Schrodinger wave equation?

Schrodinger wave equation is a mathematical equation to describe the dual nature of
matter waves. Schrodinger equation is one of the basic quantum mechanical equations.
This equation is used to describe both macroscopic as well as microscopic particles.

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6. Write down the Schrodinger time independent and dependent wave equations.
Schrodinger time independent equation,

Schrodinger time dependent equation,

Where, is the Laplacian operator, E is the energy operator, and

H is the Hamiltonian operator.

7. Mention some important applications of quantum mechanics.

● Quantum mechanics is used to explain the concept of photoelectric effect.
● Based on quantum ideas, the problem of specific heat of solids at low temperature is
explained successfully.
● The atomic structure and the origin of spectral lines are explained by Bohr based on
quantum concepts.
● The phenomenon like Scattering of X-rays are explained by Compton based on
quantum ideas.

8. What are the different types of scattering of X-rays

(i) Coherent scattering or Classical scattering.
(ii) Incoherent scattering or Compton scattering.

9. What is zero point energy

The possible energies of a particle in a base of length L is given by,

This is the energy of the ground state of the particle. Since, the particle in a box cannot
be at rest, its minimum energy is positive and is often called the zero point energy.

10. State Wien’s displacement law.

According to Wien’s displacement law, in the energy spectrum of a black body the
product of the wavelength corresponding to maximum energy (λ m) and absolute
temperature is a constant.

i.e.,

11. State Rayleigh – Jean’s law.

According to Rayleigh – Jean’s law, the energy distribution in the black body spectrum is
given by,

. Where, K is Boltzman constant.

12. State Planck’s quantum theory of radiation.

According to Planck’s theory, energy is emitted in the form of pockets or quanta called
photons and energy of photons is given by where n=1,2,3, etc. In black body
radiation, total energy of photons within the wavelength range is given by,

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 PART B QUESTIONS

1. Arrive at the Schrodinger wave equation and apply for a particle in a rectangular box to
obtain the energy Eigen values and the corresponding Eigen functions.

2. What is meant by black body radiation? Using quantum theory, derive an expression for
the average energy emitted by the black body and arrive at Planck’s radiation law.

3. With the concepts of quantum theory of black body radiation derive an expression for
energy distribution and use it to prove Wien’s displacement law and Rayleigh- Jeans law.

4. Derive an expression for Planck’s radiation law and discuss the same for shorter and
longer wavelengths.

5. What are the draw backs of classical free electron theory?

a) Explain the de-Brogile concept of wave nature.

b) Derive Schrodinger time dependent and time independent wave equations.

6. With the quantum concepts explain the energy level of an electron enclosed in an infinity
deep one dimensional potential box.

7. Derive the Schroedinger time independent wave equation for a free particle enclosed in a
one dimensional potential well of length ‘a’ with infinite potential barriers and get the
normalized wave function for the free particle.

8. Based on quantum physics show that the energy levels of an electron are discrete.

9. Arrive at the Eigen values and Eigen functions for an electron enclosed in a one
dimensional potential box and extend the same for a three dimensional box.

10. Explain the phenomenon of quantum tunneling across a thin barrier of width L using the
Schrodinger wave equation.

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 UNIT V - APPLIED OPTICS

PART A QUESTIONS

1. What is spontaneous emission?

The atom in the excited state E2 (higher energy state), returns to the ground state E1
(lower energy state), by emitting a photon of energy h without the action of an external
energy. Such an emission of radiation which is not triggered by an external influence is
called spontaneous emission.

2. What is stimulated emission?

The process of forced emission of photons caused by the incident photons is called
stimulated emission. It is also called induced emission. This process is the key factor to
the operation of a laser.

3. What is pumping emission?

E2 Excited state

E1 Ground state
Pumping is the process of raising more number of atoms to excited state by artificial
means is called as pumping process. There are several methods by which the population
inversion (pumping) can be achieved.

4. What are the pumping methods are available?

Some of the commonly used methods are:
Optical pumping
Direct electron excitation or electric discharge
Inelastic atom-atom collision method
Direct conversion method, and
Chemical method.

5. What is meant by population inversion and how it is achieved?

Establishment of a situation in which number of atoms in higher energy state is greater
than that in lower energy state is called population inversion. For normal situation, the
number of atoms N2 i.e., population of higher energy state is much lesser than the

population of lower energy state N1, i.e., . The phenomenon of making

i.e., the number of atoms N2 in higher energy state is more than the number of atoms N 1
in lower energy state is called population inversion or inverted population. Population
inversion can be achieved by means of pumping action.

6. State the properties or characteristics of laser beam.

The most important features or characteristics of lasers are:
● Directionality
● High intensity
● Extraordinary monochromacity, and
● High degree of coherence

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7. Distinguish between ordinary and laser beam.

S.N Ordinary light Laser light

1. In ordinary light angular spread is more In laser beam angular spread is less

2. They are not directional They are highly directional

3. It is less intense It is highly intense

4. It is not a coherent beam and is not in It is coherent beam and is in phase
phase

5. The radiations are polychromatic The radiations are non-polychromatic

6. Examples: Sunlight, mercury vapour Examples: He-Ne laser, CO2 laser etc.
lamp etc.

8. What are Einstein’s relations or coefficients

In Einstein’s theory of spontaneous emission and stimulated emission, we have,

Where, A21, B12 and B21 are three constants known as

Einstein’s coefficients

9. What are the differences between stimulated and spontaneous emission of

radiations

S. N Stimulated emission Spontaneous emission

1. Atom in the excited state is induced The atom in the excited state returns to
to return to ground state, thereby ground state thereby emitting a
resulting in two photons of same photon, without any external force is
frequency and energy is called called spontaneous emission.
stimulated emission.
2. The emitted photons move in the The emitted photons move in all
same directions and are highly directions and are random.
directional.
3. The radiation is high intense, The radiation is less intense and is
monochromatic and coherence. incoherent.
4. The photons are in phase i.e., there The photons are not in phase i.e., there
is a constant phase difference. is no phase relationship between them.

10. What is the principle of LASER?

Due to stimulated emission, the photons multiply in each step giving rise to an intense
beam of photons that are coherent and moving in the same direction. Hence, the light is
amplified by stimulated emission of radiation, termed as LASER.

11. Explain metastable state.

Any atom can be excited to a higher level by the absorption of energy. Normally, excited
atoms have short lifetimes (10-9 seconds) through spontaneous emission. In order to
establish the condition of population inversion, the excited atoms are required for longer
lifetime. A metastable state is such a state. Atoms excited to metastable states remain
excited for an appreciable time, which is of the order of 10 -6 to 10-3 seconds. There could
be no population inversion and hence no laser action, if metastable does not exist.

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12. What are three basic requirements for the systems?
All the laser systems must satisfy the following basic requirements for laser operation:
Active medium, Pumping system and Optical resonator.

13. What are the different types of laser available?

Lasers are classified into five major categories based on the types of active medium.
1. Solid state laser; Examples: Ruby laser, Nd-YAG laser
2. Gas laser; Examples: CO2 laser
3. Semiconductor laser; Examples: GaAs laser
4. Liquid laser; Examples: Europium benzoleacetonate dissolved in alchohol,
SeOl2 laser
5. Dye & chemical laser; Examples: Rhodamine 6G laser and Coumarin dye laser.

14. What are the applications of Nd-YAG laser

It is used in long distance communication system.
They also find applications in resistor trimming, scribing, micro machining operations as
well as welding, drilling etc.
They find applications in medical field like endoscopy, urology, neurosurgery, ENT,
dermatology, dental surgery and general surgery.
15. What are the applications of Nd-YAG LASER?
It is used in long distance communication system.
They also find applications in resistor trimming, scribing, micro machining operations as
well as welding, drilling etc.
They find applications in medical field like endoscopy, urology, neurosurgery, ENT,
dermatology, dental surgery and general surgery.

16. What is the principle of semiconductor diode laser?

When p-n junction diode is forward biased, electrons from n region and holes from p
region recombine with each other at the junction. During recombination process, light is
released from certain specified direct band gap semiconductors like Gallium Arsenide.
This radiation is called recombination radiation. The corresponding energy is called
activation energy. The wavelength of the light emitted depends on the activation energy.
The photons emitted during recombination stimulate other changes and as a result,
stimulated emission takes place which leads to laser light.

17. How the light emitting diode different from a semiconductor laser

S.No. LED LASER

1. It requires low current density It requires high current density
2. Junction of diode need not be polished Junction of the diode should be highly polished
3. Minority carrier injection should take Stimulated emission will take place
place
4. Power output is low Power output is high
5. Intensity is less Intensity is very high.

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18. List the basic components of the oscillator.
All the laser systems must satisfy the following basic requirements for laser operations:
1. Active medium, 2.Pumping system, and 3.Optical resonator.

19. What is optical fiber?

Optical fiber is a wave guide, made up of transparent dielectric like glass or plastics in
cylindrical form through which light is transmitted by total internal reflection. An optical
fiber consists of a central core glass about 50 m diameter surrounded by cladding about
125 m to 200 m diameter which is slightly lower refractive index than core material
i.e., n1> n2.

20. Define acceptance angle.

Acceptance angle (A) may be defined as the maximum angle that a light ray can have
relative to the axis of the fiber and propagate down the fiber.

21. Define fiber optics.

Fiber optics is defined as it is a branch of physics which deals with the transmission and
reception of light waves using optical fiber as wave guides.

22. What are the conditions to obtain total internal reflection?

The phenomenon of total internal reflection takes place when it satisfies the following
conditions:

Light should travel from denser medium to rarer medium, i.e.,

Where, n1 is the refractive index of core; n2 is the refractive index of the cladding material.

The angle of incidence on core should be greater than the critical angle, i.e.,
Where,  is the angle of incidence and c is the critical angle.

23. What are the features or advantages of Optical fibers

● It is light in weight.
● It is smaller in size and is flexible.
● It is non-conductive and non-radiative.
● It has high bandwidth and low loss.
● There is no short circuit in fibers.
● There is no internal noise or cross talk.
● It can withstand even at high temperatures.

24. Define numerical aperture of a fiber.

The sine of the acceptance angle ( ) of the fiber is known as numerical aperture
(NA). It denotes the light gathering capacity of the optical fiber.

i.e., Numerical aperture .

25. What is meant by fractional index change

The fractional difference  between the refractive indices of the core and cladding is

known as fractional refractive index change. It is expressed as,

This parameter is always positive because n 1 must be larger than n2 for the total
reflection condition.

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26. Differentiate between single mode and multi mode fiber.

S.No. Single mode fiber Multi-mode fibers

1 In single mode fiber only one mode Multi-mode fiber allows a large number of
can propagate through the fiber modes for the light rays traveling through
it.
2 It has smaller core dia and the It has larger core dia and refractive index
difference between the refractive difference is larger than the single mode
index of the core and cladding is very fiber.
small
3 No dispersion i.e., degradation of There is signal degradation due to multi
signals during travel in fiber mode dispersion
4 Fabrication is difficult and costly Fabrication is less difficult and not costly

27. What is single mode fiber?

In a fiber, if only one mode is transmitted through it, then it is said to be a single mode
fiber.

28. What is multi-mode fiber?

If more than one mode is transmitted through optical fibers, then it is said to be a multi-
mode fiber.

29. What is attenuation?

Attenuation in fibers means loss of optical power suffered by the optical signal in the fiber
itself. It is also known as fiber loss or signal loss.

30. Define total internal reflection.

When light ray travels from denser to rarer medium at an angle of incidence greater than
critical angle (i>c), the incident ray is reflected in the same medium that is in denser
medium and this phenomenon is called total internal reflection.

31. What is graded index fiber?

The refractive index of the core decreases when the radial distance increases from axis of
the core. It is a maximum at the axis and minimum at the core-cladding interface.

32. List out three different types of losses in fiber optics.

Absorption
Rayleigh Scattering and Geometric effects

33. Distinguish between step-index and graded index fibers.

Step index fibers Graded index fibers

The refractive index of the core is uniform The refractive index of the core is made to vary
throughout and undergoes step change at in the parabolic manner such that the maximum
the cladding boundary. refractive index is present at the centre of the
core
The diameter of the core is about 50 to The diameter of the core is about 50 to 200m
200m in the case of multi mode Step in the case of multi mode fiber.
index fiber and 10m in the case of single
mode fiber.

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34. Define dispersion.
Dispersion means degradation of the optical signal or signal distortion. In fiber optic
communication, the signals is launched in the form of pulses of light with a given width,
amplitude and spacing between pulses. During transmission, several effects result in
spreading of pulse width. This effect is called dispersion.

35. What are the different types of light sources for optical fiber?
Light emitting diodes (LED) and Laser diodes

36. What are types of optical fibers based on number of modes?

Singular mode fiber - only one mode.
Multi mode fiber - many modes.

37. Classify the fiber optic sensors.

● Active sensors, and
● Passive sensors.

38. Explain active and passive sensors with examples.

Active or intrinsic sensor
In the case of intrinsic or active sensor, it senses physical properties such as
temperature, pressure etc. and change in transmission characteristic as a result.
Different types of active sensors are,
Intensity modulated sensors
Phase modulated sensors
Polarisation modulated sensors and
Wavelength modulated sensors
Example: Pressure sensor.
Passive or extrinsic sensors
These types of sensors have separate sensing element and the fiber acts only as a wave
guiding media. In this type of sensor, the fiber is used largely as transmission medium.
Example: Displacement sensor.

39. What are the essential components of optical sensors?

Laser source
A beam splitter
Reference fiber, and
Test fiber

40. What is the basic principle of optical sensors?

A fiber optic sensor in general, consists of a light source. The light source is coupled to an
optical fiber. A light detector which receives the signal-carrying light beam as it emerges
from the fiber. The signal from detector is processed electrically for getting the desired
output.

41. Why is laser much preferred than LED as a optical source?

Laser light is much preferred than LED it is more directional, highly coherent, faster rise
time and narrow spectral width than LED.

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 PART B QUESTIONS

1. Derive Einstein’s relation for stimulated emission and hence explain the existence of
stimulated emission.

2. For atomic transitions, derive Einstein relations and hence deduce the expressions for the
ratio of spontaneous emission rate to the stimulated rate to the stimulated emission rate.

3. Discuss the various methods employed to achieve population inversion.

4. Explain the construction and working of a semi-conductor diode laser with diagram.

5. Discuss with theory the construction and working of homo-junction semiconductor laser.

6. Explain with basic principle, the construction and working of one type of optical fibre
sensor.

7. Describe the propagation of light through an optical fibre. What are numerical aperture
and acceptance angle of a fibre? Explain any two applications of optical fibre.

8. Discuss in detail the basic principle and advantages of optical fibres.

9. Classify the optical fibers on the basis of materials, modes of propagation n and
refractive index difference.

10. Derive an expression for Numerical aperture and angle of acceptance of a fibre in terms
of refractive indices of the core and cladding.

11. What are different types of fibre optical sensors? Explain the working of any two sensors.

Approved by

HoD/Physics

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