Questions about waves and light

In summary, a student performs Young's double-slit experiment. A screen is placed 2.50m from the centres of the sources such that a point on the fifth nodal line is 37.5cm from the centre of the interference pattern. Find the wavelength of the light used and identify its colour.
  • #1
ys2050
18
0
I have a few questions:
1. Most CD players use laser light in the red portion of the spectrum. What changes would be required in the manufacturing of CDs if blue light were to be used?

2. A student performs Young's double-slit experiment using a slit separation of 21.6um. A screen is placed 2.50m from the centre of the sources such that a point on the fifth nodal line is 37.5cm from the centre of the interference pattern. Find the wavelength of the light used and identify its colour.
-> I was going to use the equation dXn/L = (n-1/2)lambda
There's also the equation delta x = L x lamda / d
i don't know which equation to use.
I know that d = 21/6um, L = 37.5cm but what's 2.50m?

3. A two-point source interference pattern in a ripple tank with two sources operation in phase: A point on the eigth nodal line is 1.25m from the centre of the two sources and 48.0cm from the perpendicular bisector of the two sources. If the source separation is 2.75cm, find the wavelength of the waves.
-> I'm not sure what 1.25m and 48.0cm represent.

and one quick question. if one wave crest takes 2.0s to travel the 35.0m width of the pool, the speed is just v = 35.0m / 2.0s right? ( this might be a stupid question...i know...;;)

If you can help me with any of these questions, I would greatly appreciate it :) Thanks!
 
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  • #2
ys2050 said:
I have a few questions:
1. Most CD players use laser light in the red portion of the spectrum. What changes would be required in the manufacturing of CDs if blue light were to be used?
What do you know about the wavelenght of red and blue light.
How is the size of the smallest visible detail related to the wavelenght.

2. A student performs Young's double-slit experiment using a slit separation of 21.6um. A screen is placed 2.50m from the centre of the sources such that a point on the fifth nodal line is 37.5cm from the centre of the interference pattern. Find the wavelength of the light used and identify its colour.
Draw a diagram showing the path from the two slits to the screen.
For a bright line you want the difference in the two paths to be a whole number of wavelengths (n) for a dark line you want n+0.5 wavelengths so they cancel

3. A two-point source interference pattern in a ripple tank with two sources operation in phase: A point on the eigth nodal line is 1.25m from the centre of the two sources and 48.0cm from the perpendicular bisector of the two sources. If the source separation is 2.75cm, find the wavelength of the waves.
This is the same as q2, the two sources are the same as thw two slits.

and one quick question. if one wave crest takes 2.0s to travel the 35.0m width of the pool, the speed is just v = 35.0m / 2.0s right? ( this might be a stupid question...i know...;;)
Correct
 
  • #3
mgb_phys said:
What do you know about the wavelenght of red and blue light.
How is the size of the smallest visible detail related to the wavelenght.


Draw a diagram showing the path from the two slits to the screen.
For a bright line you want the difference in the two paths to be a whole number of wavelengths (n) for a dark line you want n+0.5 wavelengths so they cancel


This is the same as q2, the two sources are the same as thw two slits.


For #1, I know that the wavelength of red light is longer than the blue light
#2, I drew the diagram and I'm still not getting it... Which equation do we use? Which equation do we use for #3?
 

Related to Questions about waves and light

1. What are waves and how do they work?

Waves are a form of energy that travel through a medium, such as air or water. They are created when a disturbance, such as a vibration, causes particles in the medium to move. This movement then creates a ripple effect, causing the wave to travel through the medium.

2. What is the difference between mechanical and electromagnetic waves?

Mechanical waves require a medium to travel through, whereas electromagnetic waves can travel through a vacuum. Mechanical waves include sound waves and water waves, while electromagnetic waves include light waves and radio waves.

3. How does light travel?

Light travels in the form of electromagnetic waves, which are created by the vibration of electric and magnetic fields. These waves can travel through a vacuum at the speed of light, which is approximately 299,792,458 meters per second.

4. What is the electromagnetic spectrum?

The electromagnetic spectrum is the range of all possible frequencies of electromagnetic radiation. This includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared radiation, visible light, ultraviolet radiation, X-rays, and gamma rays.

5. How does the color of light affect its energy?

The color of light is determined by its wavelength, with shorter wavelengths corresponding to higher energy levels. This means that blue light, which has a shorter wavelength than red light, has more energy. This is important in fields such as photovoltaics, where the energy of light is converted into electricity.

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