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PHYSICAL OPTICS





Nature of Light

  • Dual nature of light
  • Simple harmonic motion 
  • differential
  • Simple harmonic waves
  • mathematical representation
  • Super position of simple harmonic waves
  • HUYGENS ’ Principle 
  • laws of reflection and refraction at plane and spherical surfaces
  • Wave velocity & group velocity 
  • determination  of velocity of light (any one method.)



Interference of Light


  • Interference
  • Coherence
  • path and phase difference
  • Theory of interference fringes
  • intensity distribution infringes
  • Young’s double slit experiment
  • Fresnels’ biprism
  • Lloyds’ error experiments
  • visibility of fringes.
  • Interference in thin films due to reflected and transmuted light
  • Interference in wedge-Shaped films
  • Newton’s ring experiment
  • Color of thin films
  • thin film anti reflection coatings and filters



Diffraction of Light


  • Diffraction by single slit
  • double slit
  • multiple slit
  • grating
  • circular aperture –amplitude & intensity distribution (final expressions only) 
  • Circular aperture- airy pattern
  • resolution by circular apertures
  • Diffraction grating- reflection
  • transmission
  • amplitude & phase gratings (definitions in brief) 
  • Grating dispersion & dispersive power
  • spectral resolution
  • zone plates
  • Rayleigh’s criterion

Polarization of Light


  • Concept of polarization
  • linear , circular , elliptical polarization (qualitatively)
  • Plane of polarization  & vibration
  • degree of polarization
  • polarizes
  • analyzer
  • Production of polarized light
  • birefringence
  • calculate crystal 
  • veal prism
  • Wallaston prism 
  • retarders  - full, half & quarter wave plates
  • analysis of light of unknown Polarization
  • Linear  Scattering


Laser

  • Principles of Lasers
  • Holography – basic principle
  • simple experimental arrangement
  • some applications

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Interference in Wedge Shaped Film (Reflected Rays)

Thin Film Interference A film of thickness from 0.5 to 10  m is a transparent medium of glass, mica, air enclosed between glass, soap film, etc. When the light is made incident on this thin film partial reflection and partial refraction occur from the top surface of the film. The refracted beam travels in the medium and again suffers partial reflection and partial refraction at the bottom surface of the film. In this way several reflected and refracted rays are produces by a single incident ray. As they moves are superimposed on each other and produces interference pattern. Interference in Parallel Film ( Reflected Rays) Consider a thin film of uniform thickness ‘t’ and refractive index   bounded between air. Let us consider monochromatic ray AB is made incident on the film, at B part of ray is reflected (R 1 ) and a part is refracted along BC.At C The beam BC again suffer partial reflection and partial refraction,  the reflected beam CD mov...

Lloyd's’ mirror experiment

Lloyd's mirror This is another method for finding the wavelength of light by the division of wavefront. Light from a slit So falls on a silvered surface at a very small grazing angle of incidence as shown in the diagram (Figure 1). A virtual image of So is formed at S1. Interference occurs between the direct beam from So to the observer (0) and the reflected beam The zeroth fringe will be black because of the phase change due to reflection at the surface.  Application An interesting application of this effect may be observed when a helicopter flies above the sea near a radio transmitter. The helicopter will receive two signals: (a) one signal directly from the transmitter and (b) a second signal after reflection from the sea As the helicopter rises the phase difference between the two signals will alter and the helicopter will pass through regions of maxima and minima. Lloyd's mirror Experiment Lloyd’s Mirror is used to produce two-source interference...

Thin-Lens Equation:Newtonian Form

In the Newtonian form of the lens equation, the distances from the focal length points to the object and image are used rather than the distances from the lens. Newton used the "extrafocal distances" xo and xi in his formulation of the thin lens equation. It is an equivalent treatment, but the Gaussian form will be used in this resource.