Unit 4 · 5 lessons
The Wave Nature of Light
Interference, diffraction, thin films and polarization: the evidence that light is a transverse electromagnetic wave, the mathematics that measures its wavelength, and the technologies built on it.
- 55 practice questions
- 40 flashcards
- 2 interactive lessons
Lessons
- 1Interference and Diffraction of WavesTwo sources in a ripple tank, the nodal lines they carve out, the path-difference rule that locates every one of them, and why waves bend through openings only when the opening is not much wider than the wavelength.10 questions
- 2Huygens' Principle and the Particle-vs-Wave DebateNewton's particles against Huygens' waves: how wavelets explain reflection and refraction, why the two models disagreed about the speed of light in water, and the experiments from Young to Maxwell that settled the argument in favour of waves, at least until the photon arrived.Interactive10 questions
- 3Young's Double-Slit Experiment and GratingsHow two narrow slits turn one beam of light into a ripple-tank pattern, the equations that pull a wavelength out of a fringe spacing, why a grating with thousands of slits makes sharper spectra, and what a single slit does on its own.Interactive11 questions
- 4Thin Films and PolarizationWhy soap bubbles and oil slicks shimmer with colour, how a half-wavelength flip on reflection decides which colours survive, how coatings cancel glare, and how polarizing filters prove that light is a transverse wave.12 questions
- 5Light as an Electromagnetic WaveWhat kind of wave light is and what makes one, the electromagnetic spectrum from radio to gamma rays, why a prism splits colours, why diffraction limits how much detail any lens can see, and the technologies that put all of it to work.12 questions