14.4 Diffraction and Polarization

• Polarization refers to the orientation of the wave's oscillation
• Match the concept with its description in Young's Double Slit Experiment:

  Constructive Interference ↔️ Path difference is an integer multiple of wavelength

  Destructive Interference ↔️ Path difference is an odd multiple of half the wavelength
• Malus' Law explains the reduction in intensity of polarized light as it passes through a second polarizer
• Why does diffraction occur when waves encounter obstacles or openings?

  Waves spread out
• Only transverse waves can be polarized because their oscillations are perpendicular to their direction of propagation
• Why can longitudinal waves not be polarized?

  Oscillations are parallel
• Young's Double Slit Experiment creates an interference pattern by passing light through two narrow, parallel slits
• What is diffraction in wave phenomena?

  Bending of waves
• Smaller openings or obstacles lead to more pronounced diffraction.


  True
• In the diffraction formula, *d* represents the width of the slit or obstacle
• What does *λ* stand for in the diffraction formula?

  Wavelength
• Steps in Young's Double Slit Experiment

  1️⃣ Light passes through two slits

  2️⃣ Interference pattern is created on a screen

  3️⃣ Constructive interference forms bright fringes

  4️⃣ Destructive interference forms dark fringes
• Diffraction occurs because waves spread out and interfere with each other.
• Shorter wavelengths experience more diffraction than longer wavelengths.


  True
• Order the wave types from longest to shortest wavelength:

  1️⃣ Radio Waves

  2️⃣ Visible Light
• What is the key characteristic of linear polarization?

  Vibrations along a straight line
• Elliptical polarization results from two orthogonal waves with unequal amplitudes or a phase difference not equal to $π / 2$.


  True
• What is the mathematical expression for Malus' Law?

  $I =$$I_{0} \cos^{2} \theta$
• Diffraction refers to the bending of waves as they pass around obstacles or through openings
• Only transverse waves can be polarized because their oscillations are perpendicular to their direction of propagation
• Match the polarization mechanism with its description:

  Reflection Polarization ↔️ Occurs when waves reflect off a surface

  Refraction Polarization ↔️ Happens as waves pass from one medium to another

  Polarizing Filter ↔️ Allows waves in a specific orientation to pass through
• What does Young's Double Slit Experiment demonstrate?

  The wave nature of light
• Young's Double Slit Experiment supports the wave nature of light and validates Huygens' Principle.


  True
• Constructive interference occurs when light waves align and reinforce each other to create bright fringes
• What does 'd' represent in the interference formula $d \sin \theta =$$m \lambda$?


  Slit separation
• What is diffraction defined as?

  Bending of waves
• Do shorter wavelengths experience more or less diffraction?

  Less
• Match the polarization type with its key characteristic:

  Linear ↔️ Electric field oscillates in one direction

  Circular ↔️ Two orthogonal waves with 90° phase difference

  Elliptical ↔️ Two orthogonal waves with unequal amplitudes
• Malus' Law states that the intensity of transmitted light is proportional to the square of the cosine of the angle between polarization axes.


  True
• The mathematical expression for Malus' Law is I = I_{0} \cos^{2} \theta</latex>, where θ is the angle between the polarization axes
• Match the application of polarization with its description:

  Photography ↔️ Reduce glare and enhance contrast

  Display Technologies ↔️ Control light transmission in LCDs

  Optical Communications ↔️ Increase data transmission capacity
• What does diffraction refer to?

  Bending of waves
• Huygens' Principle states that every point on a wavefront acts as a source of new secondary waves.


  True
• Longitudinal waves can be polarized.

  False
• Reflection polarization occurs when a transverse wave reflects off a surface
• What happens to a transverse wave during refraction polarization?

  It becomes partially polarized
• A polarizing filter allows only waves oscillating in a specific orientation to pass through.


  True
• Steps in Huygens' Principle:

  1️⃣ Every point on a wavefront acts as a source of new secondary waves

  2️⃣ Secondary waves propagate forward in all directions

  3️⃣ The envelope of these waves constitutes the new position of the wavefront
• What phenomena does Huygens' Principle help explain?

  Diffraction and interference
• Diffraction occurs because waves have the ability to spread out and interfere with each other.

  True