14.4 Diffraction and Polarization

• Polarization refers to the orientation of the wave's oscillation
• Malus' Law explains the reduction in intensity of polarized light as it passes through a second polarizer
• Reflection polarization occurs when a transverse wave reflects off a surface
• 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
• Only transverse waves can be polarized because their oscillations are perpendicular to their direction of propagation
• Young's Double Slit Experiment creates an interference pattern by passing light through two narrow, parallel slits
• Shorter wavelengths experience more pronounced diffraction
• In the diffraction formula, *d* represents the width of the slit or obstacle
• Radio waves with longer wavelengths experience more diffraction
• Only transverse waves can be polarized
• In Huygens' principle, every point on a wavefront acts as a source of new secondary waves.
• Dark fringes in Young's experiment occur when the path difference is an odd multiple of half the wavelength.

  True
• Shorter wavelengths experience more diffraction than longer wavelengths.


  True
• Match the variable in the diffraction formula with its meaning:

  d ↔️ Width of the slit or obstacle

  θ ↔️ Angle of the diffraction pattern

  m ↔️ Order of the diffraction

  λ ↔️ Wavelength of the wave
• 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
• Match the polarization type with its key characteristic:

  Linear ↔️ Oscillates in a straight line

  Circular ↔️ Oscillates in a circle

  Elliptical ↔️ Oscillates in an ellipse
• Malus' Law is significant because it allows us to understand how polarizing filters work.


  True
• Only transverse waves can be polarized because their oscillations are perpendicular to their direction of propagation
• Order the steps in Huygens' Principle:

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

  2️⃣ These wavelets propagate forward in all directions at the same speed.

  3️⃣ The envelope of these wavelets forms the new position of the wavefront.
• Young's Double Slit Experiment supports the wave nature of light and validates Huygens' Principle.


  True
• Destructive interference creates dark fringes by light waves canceling each other out.

  True
• What is diffraction defined as?

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

  Less
• What type of polarization has the simplest oscillation pattern?

  Linear
• If incident light passes through a polarizing filter oriented at 45°, what is the transmitted intensity?

  $\frac{I_{0}}{2}$
• What does diffraction refer to?

  Bending of waves
• 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
• Longitudinal waves can be polarized.

  False
• A polarizing filter allows only waves oscillating in a specific orientation to pass through.


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

  True
• Huygens' Principle is crucial for understanding wave phenomena like diffraction and interference.

  True
• What is diffraction in wave phenomena?

  Bending of waves
• What does the diffraction formula relate?

  d sin θ = m λ
• What does *λ* stand for in the diffraction formula?

  Wavelength
• What principle explains diffraction by considering secondary wavelets?

  Huygens' principle
• What is the key concept of Huygens' principle?

  Secondary wavelets
• What is the path difference required for constructive interference in Young's experiment?

  Integer multiple of λ
• Diffraction occurs because waves can spread out and interfere with each other after encountering an opening
• What is the diffraction formula?

  $d \sin \theta =$$m \lambda$