Huygens Principle

start with light wave front on a plane wave

he

can decompose wavefront into wavelets

Then let each wave let send out waves withthe

same in all directions
wavelength

pick one wavelet

 now add wavelets from all sources

wavefront
few

the goingbackwards are cancelled out

ones
wavelets behind the leading set
by
This can be used to explain 2 slit
interference where width of slit aced

aid this reproduces

2 slit interference
pattern
what if slit width an X
Then Huygens's principle to all
apply
the wavelets that fit inside slit
This called d
is
diffraction a

Franhoferdilfaction
when slit and screen are separated
byR a

Iii
T G
a

Iti r

want to calculate the diffraction interference

minima and maxima at point P
 Dittgistigitilintynence is destructive

t
iii

start w 2 wavelets at top of slit and in center

for R sa both make angle O wrt
rays
dashed line
this is the same as 2 slit interference
with d a z Dr d sino
Es in o
for 11 minima want Ar Ed
X
so
ESKO I a Sino

now add another pair of wavelets right below

for Rs a condition
same a sino d At minima
keep adding pairs will all contribute same
so final condition for 1st minima
1st a sin X
II because have can
a minima belongdashed line
call this path difference Ar center
of slit topt
2nd minima will occur when Dr Jr X
2nd asino I 24
and etc th
for n minima

fasino
inty
position y on screen
given by
tano y R
but for Rs
y Jano sino
Inf
so nad y can be or

I
n minima
y
 what about no that would mean
Dr O so we would bright
get a
interference maxima there

interference bands

tf U
3 n I
f

slit gg in ima
3 an

3 my

ex
light wavelengths 300 500 nm

let X 400 nm

a I mm
a R I m
how minima are there up to
many diffraction
I can on screen
 tom

j
t
a
imp R

Im

mpg joking
n
is

25
I 41 1 0.8

so 25 minima above 25 below

what's the width of central wax on screen

1st min is at
y 1
tf 4001min
3
0.4 10 0.4 mm
0445dgto min

A win
 central max has a width 0.4 0.8mm
so
of 2
ex light ofwavelength 570mm on slit
screen is12 7.5 m away
width of central max is 3.2cm
how wide is slit
1st minima is
325 l bear above center
of
central may
since tan 0 0.00213 n L
1
a
nad
so a
jm
EE 0.27mm
Intensitypatted
Each wavelet has an E field En n wavelet
At point P each wavelet will have a
phase shift from wavelet alp
having different
fit
path length starlet 1
Add
up all the waves
af R
as vectors
But assum RS a
all waves parallel
are
so
just need to add amplitudes to get final
E field p
n
U
o
la
V

D
E Tot at P sum E at each wavelet
each E will have slightlydifferent
phase at point due to the
different path length
Textbook derivation is prettygood
I Io
result
sing where D
Hagia
where o angle between dashed horizontal
line from cent of slit to screen
and wavelet from centerof slit to P
ray
intensity at
Io is central maximum 0 0

note sine function

sings
also I
sing as x 70

since x
I sin x

An
when X
Intensity minima Mit
are

MIT
so
Hasid
a sino ma as before
Intensitypattunderivation
To do this night we would
picka point P and
add the interference from all wavelets
up
First calculate net electric field
Each wave let has an E field that
has this form EEE cos kr wt too
where i labels the phase of the
wavelet at point P
p
Et Ei sum over
E wavelets
a
n

la A wavelets a sum
turns into an integral
Hr
Er IS Éidx
all
the integral goes from E to
E because
we
define the phase difference relative to
the central wavelet
let x be the distance above the center of the
slit and
EE x Et
E
the phase difference between central wavelet
 and other wavelet at coordinate x
any
is as usual D Kar
where Dr difference distance from
in
the 2 wave lets to point P
2 slit interference
just as w

Ar X sin 0
so di ka ri kxis in

ZIT in
XIS
integral is
a 12

E tot at Eo cos k r wt
HEE x dy
the ta needed to cancel out the
is
added position dimension from integrating
over X
or could think of the integral as
you
being over the fractional distance dfa

this integral is easy

 al z
Ea ta Eo
sings
Easingfin
Ikr wt t since

sin ter wt
II sino

let A fer wt B sino

then sin At B sin A B

Sin AcosBt WSA Sin B sin AWB cosAsia B
2 cos Asi u B
so Eton Eo cool kr wt

sinfII
sfIg sine ex since s.in

S0E ot EocosCkr wt sine itafi_n0

then intensity
I Eo EET C
 Eoc Esco Ikr wt sine
Kasia
me
I Io since Taga
1st where IT Sindt D
Hagia
min is

or a Sino X

2nd min is when IT

Tagino
or a sin D 21

etc asino I ma ma 42,3 mining

we don't look for maxima this way because
the function
sine is the product of 2
functions since x
I since
is not necessarily max of sine
max of sin x

but min sine min sin

 for
very small angles
R a we have

minima at
a sino ao nx
o nad
this is the angular width of the central max

Circulatits also forms diffraction patterns

2
istmin central
1 wax is

Kyte called Airy'sdisc

for circular apertures slits

the above is more
integral
complicated
condition for l'd minima

D Sino 1.227 1.22 comes from the

complicated integral
diameter
ofaperture
 Back to geometric optics lens
we assume lens focuses

of 1 to a
point but now
y
know there's
we

diffraction that smears

the image out
ex 2 objects at a leg 2 stars are imaged
through a telescope that has aperture D

Tj
Co
c
each object will fam an image near focal pt
one below I above
each will havecentral max due
a
image
to diffraction through telescope aperture
 let O be the angular separation between
the images this is also the angular
separation the objects
of
if sin O h
1.221g then the image ofone
will fall in the Airy
disc of the other
images are not resolvable
O

At apart so you see the

it
I falls the
of on min
of
here 0 1
245
not
if O h
1.231 then the images
are

resolvable
this is the diffraction limit for optical
instruments
 be small
eye pupil
ex can as as 2mm

if light has A 550 um what is the

minimum angle between 2 objects that
you could see

t o
if

I
III Ting 3.30 10

if headlightsof a car are r 1.2m apart what's

the farthest dist the car can be to you to
still resolve the 2 headlights and not look
like a single headlights
4
O I 3.36410
d 3577m
Fox oy 3 1,7 4
a 3.6km
2.2miles
 is 0.4cm diameter dilated
ex
eye pupil
a

if 2 stars are 108km a

pent binarystars
then what's the furthest distance
they can be and still viewablelimited
by
the
eye without being diffraction
use a 400am
0 5
1.51
1.22
049 191 1.22

r 108km
O
of

O I 1.22 04
d 8.2 10 km 8.2 10 m
14
19
note speed of light c 3 108 s

so the time to travel dist d ct

any
so the time for light to go 8.2 10 m

t
E gigging 2732 light see
45.5 light min
The closest star is Proxima Centauri
d 4.246 light years

the
so
eye is incapable of resolving binary
stars that are 108km apart
whats the smallest separation at 4.246 lighty

1
2273
4 46light
yr
I light year dist light goes in I yr act
3 1084
ly 3651,42411 36008g
9.4641015m
r 1.22
89,9 21 0 4.2464 9.46 1015

4.9 x co m

16335 light I 272

sec light min
4.9519kg
4.5 light hours
This is past orbit
ofpluto
 dist earth sun 93 18miles

1.5 10 m
528ft
gg
3

500 light see 8 light min

1.531 8,1
1 Astronomical unit Au earth sun
define
dist
 pÉÉ
a
ÉfÉÉena
d
ignored slit width

or
I
r
un
wave fonts

had
resulting interference pattern
maxima when dsino nd
n o Il 2
If we use
light X r 550am slits are
with a d so have to include
usually in
diffraction interference pattern

y
screen's and
Iig t
 Her
slit interference d sing nd maxima
no
Utt a minima

asino M X minima ma IL
diffraction
for sino small fanon Sinor
and tan 0
72
position
y for interference
so min

dye att
or
yn Cat's

position a diffraction minima

MX
ayyy
or you Radm
distance between interference minima
by Yau Yu RI
 dist between diffraction minima

Dga Youn Yun

RI
sd r
usually a
Ayia Byd
there will be minima
manyinterference
so
inside diffraction minima

diff min
O O O ot to ot
t
t interference
diff min minima

Intensitypattern for 2 slit

I Io cos012 where 4 phase diff between

waves from top bot
slit
bar ka d si no

Zitdfino
Intensity fu diffraction of single slit
I Io since Itasca
overall intensity diffraction modulates interference

I Io my'dfint since raging

in in
interference diffraction
maxima minima

when da integer then the diff min will

cancel out int may
ex as I mm d 3 mm

in
iad
interference max is a
pts ya n

diffraction ME
min
you
since d 3a can write
yn neg
so int max coincides w di min when
Ma 413
this means 3rd interference maxima is washed
out
by 1st diffraction minima

in general interference maxima between

will be
diffraction minima
i
2dg
ÉÉ t.gg m
q qa

inthin
st t.t.at p interference is
constructive atp
r
Id if Kar 21T n
l
n O
Late
for nel then bar 21T D

and Dredsino
Kar dsino X
2Id
sino zit

Py
o
Te tano
ft
d T and tano sing
R
2 of so Sino
f YI
grad since
y
II
y height above line
of symmetry betwee
wave 192
 now add another slit w same
spacing
P
r
f
Id r

this wave will also add constructively at P

because the pathdiff to the other 2 waves
will also be a
multiple of X
p
l t
Y
d
2
as I
Re
d t Ariz R r d since
g Ari I V3 r a 2d s in

3
so that all
rays
make an
Cat screen

dashed line
Next add slits Each slit will
more
add at point P with other
constructively
sources Cat the other slits
This will produce a
very bright max at
point P

Now move point P slightly from the may

and add more slits up

p at y
may at bi

d
2
a
Re
d

3
Dashed lines are point P at y
y
112 waves have path di Dr that is slightly
bigger than before red line
2nd pair has path difference Dr
a that is
even bigger than Dr
Ares Dr
each additional slit will have an even

bigger path difference

for large enough number of slits at some

point the extra pathdifference will

start to be Yz d from the 1st
and will cane l each other out
Ai X

so
right next to 1 max we will fall

quickly
to
zero amplitude due to all
the cancellations
for m w dis t d between you will
still max when d nd
see
sing
but as m the amplitude falls off
more
quickly
 2 slits

u
3 slits

u
10 slits

uh
100 slits

uh
Actually there structure between
is some
these maxima but it is much reduced
there are N l minima inbetwee maxima
 for N slits
10 3 slits

My N's slits
Mr
but the slits all have to have the same

separation

Diffractiongrating
This is used for very many slits 1000s

The interference maxima are peaked

very
grating g
D Ay
N I b
tf

p
N slits per length D spacing d
If
interference max are when dsino nd
and tano s.no
Yg
so nX
dyg
tf
so n
yn
then distance between maxima on
the screen Yun Dy gu II
so if we measure
Dy d R carefully
then I d y tells you the

wavelengthof light
gratings can be used to
Diffraction
measure wavelengths of light