Unit 14 · Waves, Sound, and Physical Optics

Chapter 14.4

Diffraction and Double-Slit Interference

Shine light through two narrow slits and the screen shows stripes, with dark bands where two lights add up to darkness. Young settled a century-old argument with that one picture.

in preparation · lesson 22 of 27

By the end

  1. 01Explain single-slit diffraction and locate its dark bands with the small-angle relation
  2. 02Explain double-slit fringes from path difference and locate the bright bands
  3. 03Describe the single-slit envelope over a double-slit pattern and what a grating does to white light
  4. 04State why the double-slit pattern is evidence that light is a wave

In unit 14

  1. 14.1Waves, Sound, and the Doppler Effect
  2. 14.2Boundaries, Polarization, and Light as a Wave
  3. 14.3Superposition, Beats, and Standing Waves
  4. 14.4Diffraction and Double-Slit Interference
  5. 14.5Thin-Film Interference
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