CHAPTER OUTLINE

In this chapter, you will:

• examine the behaviour of waves at boundaries in terms of reflection,

refraction and transmission.

• exam ine the diffraction of waves around objects and through apertures.

• use wavefront and ray d iagrams to show refraction and diffraction

• exam ine the superposition of pulses and waves

• examine interference from two sources

• become fam iliar with Young's double source interference

> examine single-slit interference

> explore how double-slit interference is dependent on the single-slit

diffraction envelope.

> explore interference patterns from multiple slits and

diffraction gratings.

KEY TERMS

reflection: W hen a wave meets a boundary betw een t wo differe nt m ed ia,

some , or all, of th e wave may not pa ss beyond th e b o undary and will ' bounce
off'. This is called ref lection.

refraction: The cha nge in speed (and somet imes d irection) when waves pass
from one medium into a different medium

refractive index: The ratio of the speed of elect romagnetic waves in a

vacuum to t he speed of t he same wave in a d iffe re nt m edium;
n= v vacuurn = .f.
V medrum V
I Sine,
Snell s law: 1n 2 = - . -
s1n 82
critical angle, Oc: The angle at wh ich the refracted ray (from a more dense
medium to a less dense medium) travels alo ng th e boundary between t he
two media; ec= sin - 1 (

diffraction: The spreading out of waves as they pass around an object or

t hrough an aperture

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 14 Wave phenomena

CONTINUED

coherent: A term describing when two or more sources are em itting waves
in phase o r with a constant phase relationship between them

superposition : When two or more waves meet at the same p lace and time

interference: The effect of two or more waves meeting at the same place
and time

wavefront: A line, or surface, showing parts of a wave that are of the same
phase as each other (usua lly shown as wave peaks)

ray diagram: A diagram showing the path, or paths, of waves

diffraction grating: An assembly of many narrow slits, equally spaced a

sma ll distance apart, through which waves can travel

KEY EQUATIONS

refractive index: n = =
med1um

Sne 11's Iaw.. n -_ -sin

.-
01
1 2 Stn 02

critical angle: ec = sin - 1

( )J
constructive interference: path difference =nA
destructive interference: path difference = (n + h ) A
Young's double slit: s = 'AJ
Constructive interference equations

• Singl e sl it : n A= b sin en
(Here, en is the ang le between the central maxi mum, t he sing le sl it and
t he nth minimum .)

• Double sl it/2 sources: n A= d sin en

(Here, en is the angle between the centra l maximum, the single slit and
th e nth maximu m.) Be careful not to get
these two different ns
where n is the refractive index, n is an integer, A the wavelength, s the fring e mixed up!!
separation, D the d istance f rom sources to screen, d the separation of t wo
sources and b t he wid th of a single slit.

Author's note: th e two n's in these equations are d ifferent; the ita li c n is th e
refractive index and the norma l case n is representing an integer.

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) PHYSICS FOR THE 18 DIPLOMA: WORKBOOK

Exercise 14.1 Reflection and refraction

The questions in this section will develop your understanding of reflection and
refraction of waves.

1 Figure 14.1 shows a string attached perpendicularly to a mirror. A pulse is

travelling along the string towards the mirror in the direction shown.

mtrror

Before

mirror

After

Figure 14.1

a Complete the diagram in Figure 14.1 to show what happens to the pulse on
the string after it has reached the mirror.

b What can you say has happened to the pulse?

c By how much has there been a phase change?

2 Figure 14.2 shows two strings attached together. The left-hand string is narrow
and has a pulse travelling along it in the direction shown. The right-hand string is
made from the same material as the left-hand string, but it is much thicker and so
has inore mass per unit length.

_____.
Direction of pulse

Before n
Figure 14 .2

a Complete the diagram in Figure 14.2 to show what happens after the
pulse has reached the place where the two strings are attached.

ii Explain the features of your addition to Figure 14.2 .

b How will the speed of the transmitted pulse compare with the speed of
the reflected pulse?

ii Explain your answer.

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 14 Wave phenomena

c Compared with the original incident pulse, comment on the phase of the

transmitted pulse.

ii reflected pulse.

d Compared with the original incident pulse, comment on the amplitude of the

transmitted pulse.

ii reflected pulse.

3 Figure 14.3 shows two strings attached together. The left-hand string is thick and
has a pulse travelling along it in the direction shown. The right-hand string is
made from the same material as the left-hand string, but it is much thinner and so
has less mass per unit length.

Direction of pulse

Befure
•
. . . . . . . ._________________

Figure 14.3

a Complete the diagram in Figure 14.3 to show what happens after the
pulse has reached the place where the two strings are attached.

ii Explain the features of your addition to Figure 14.3.

b How will the speed of the transmitted pulse compare with the speed of
the reflected pulse?

ii Explain your answer.

c Compared with the original incident pulse, comment on the phase of the

transmitted pulse.

ii reflected pulse.

d Compared with the original incident pulse, comment on the amplitude of the

transmitted pulse.

ii reflected pulse.

4 Figure 14.4 shows two different ways of representing the same event: some waves
incident on a mirror surface at an angle of incidence of e.

Figure 14.4

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a Explain what is meant by the following terms:

ray

ii wavefront

iii normal

iv angle of incidence

v angle of reflection

b Complete the two diagrams in Figure 14.4 to show what happens when the
waves are reflected from the mirror surface.

c How are the angle of incidence and the angle of reflection related?

d How are the wavefronts and the rays related?

5 a Explain what is meant by refraction.

ii Define the term refractive index, n, of a substance.

b Figure 14.5 shows a ray of light incident on the boundary between the air and
some water.

in cident ray

a tr

water

Figure 14.5

Add to the diagram

the normal.

ii the reflected ray.

iii the refracted ray.

iv the angle of incidence.

v the angle of refraction.

c How is the angle of refraction, r, related to the angle of incidence, i?

(Take the refractive index of air to be 1.0.)

d What is the name of this law?

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 14 Wave phenomena

6 Figure 14.6 shows some wavefronts of light of frequency 6.0 x 10 14 Hz incident on

a boundary between the air and some glass. The refractive index of glass is 1.5.

Glass

Figure 14.6

a Calculate the angle of refraction of the light.

b Ca lculate the speed of the light in the glass. (The speed of light in air is
3 x 10 8 ms - 1. )

c Calculate the wavelength of the light in air.

d Calc ulate the wavelength of the light in the glass.

e What colour is the light in air?

f What colour is the light in the glass?

g Complete the diagram in Figure 14.6 to show the wavefronts being refracted
in the glass.

h Indicate on Figure 14.6 the wavelength of the light in the

air, "-air

ii glass, \ lass
7 Figure 14.7 shows a ray of light incident on the boundary between some water
(n = 1.33) and the air (n = 1.0).

Air

Water

normal

Figure 14.7

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) PHYSICS FOR THE IB DIPLOMA: WORKBOOK

a Complete the diagram to show what happens to the ray of light.

b As the angle of incidence in the water increases, what happens to the angle
Use Snell's law and
of refraction in the air?
just reverse the
c When the angle of refraction becomes 90°, the ray will travel a long the direction of the rays.
boundary between the water and the air. What will the angle of incidence
be for this to happen?

d What is the name given to this angle of incidence?

e At angles of incidence greater than the angle you calculated in part c,

what happens to the ray?

8 Outline an experiment that cou ld find the refractive index of a rectangular block
of glass. Make sure you include

• the equipment required,

• the measurements you need to make (and the instruments you would use to
make them) and

• how you would manipu late the data to obtain a reliable value for n.

9 In formation is often transmitted using fibre optic cables. Fibre optic cables are made
from a glass fibre surrounded by cladding material with an optical refractive index
less than that of the glass fibre. An outer covering protects the cladding from
exterior damage. Light is transmitted into the cable, in pulses, so that it is incident
on the glass fibre-cladding boundary at an angle fJ, as shown in Figure 14.8.
The pulses of light undergo total internal reflection.

Outer cover
Cladding n = I .45

Glass Fibre n = 1.47

Cladding n = 1.45
Outer cover

Figure 14.8

a How would the speed of light in the cladding compare with the speed of light
in the glass fibre?

b Calculate the speed of light in the

glass fibre.

ii cladding.

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 14 Wave phenomena

c Determine the minimum value of e that will allow total internal reflection of
the pulses of light to occur.

d What is the name given to this angle?

e Hence, calculate the time it would take a pulse of light to travel along a
1.0 km cable at this value of e.

f How does the time calculated in parte compare to the time it would take light
to travel along the glass fibre of a 1.0 km cable if e =90°?

g Suggest some advantages of fibre optic cables over solid copper cables for the
transmission of information .

10 In some seismological surveys, longitudinal compression waves (similar to sound

waves) of frequency 60Hz are transmitted downwards through some of the
uppermost layers in the Earth's crust. An example of this procedure is shown in
Figure 14.9. The speeds at which the compression waves travel through the various
layers of the Earth 's crust are shown on the right-hand side of each layer.

Air v = 300 ms- 1

Layer X v = 6.0 kms- 1

LayerY v = 4.0 kms- 1

Layer Z v = 9.0 kms- 1

Figure 14.9

a Use the information in Figure 14.9 to determine the

wavelength of the compression waves in layer X.

ii angle of refraction, e, in layer Y.

b Show that the compression waves will not be transmitted into layer Z.

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