Physics Home > Teaching Labs > Electricity & Magnetism > Two Slit Interference

Topics

Points of Emphasis

Prerequisites

Lab Activities

In this experiment, the students:

1. Study the interference patterns produced by light incident on two closely spaced narrow slits in an opaque screen (the Young two slit interference patterns) as a function of the width of the slits and the separation between them. The observed intensity patterns are compared with computed intensity distributions.
   
   
2. Study the effect of the state of polarization of the light on the interference of light and attempt to verify the Arago-Fresnel Laws of interference of polarized light:
   
   

   a. Rays polarized orthogonally do not interfere.
   
   b. Rays polarizedidentically interfere the same as unpolarized rays.
   
   c. Rays polarized orthogonally and then repolarized in the same way do not interfere if the original source was unpolarized.
   
   d. Rays polarized orthogonally and then repolarized in the same way do interfere if the original common source was polarized.
   
   

Course Level

Introductory: P16

Student Handouts

Equipment

Number of set-ups available: Per lab station: 1 diode laser 1 Edmunds lense holder/post 1 slit plate 2 sllt plate holders/posts 1 2D adjustable optical bench mount 2 plane mirros/posts 1 four track optical bench 1 mounted photoresistor 2 X-Y recorders 1 30 V DC power supply/wooden stand 1 ramp generator 1 2m meterstick 1 split linear polarier 1 split circular polarizer 1 circular linear polarizer 1 wooden polarizer holder 5 optical bench mounts 1 plotter pen 1 flashlight 1 small lamp 2 rubber bands 1 kohm resister 8 banana leads blank white paper

Notes

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