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Fall, 1997


Lesson 15 Wave Properties of Light

15

15-1: The Propagation of Light as a Wave
Keywords: Light As A Wave; sinusoidal wave equations ;
OBJECTIVES:Write the traveling wave functions and compute their wavelength,
frequency and wave velocity.


15-2: Polarization
Keywords: Light As A Wave; Polarization;

OBJECTIVES:Write the polarization equation I = I cos2, and apply it to solve
problems involving the intensity of light transmitted by a polarizing material.0[!]


15-3: The Doppler Effect
Keywords: Light As A Wave; Doppler Effect For Light; Constancy Of The Speed Of
Light;
OBJECTIVES:Write and apply the equation that describes the observed frequency
when a source of electromagnetic radiation and an observer are either approaching or
receding from each other.


15-4: Interference
Keywords: Interference; Intensity;
OBJECTIVES:Calculate relative intensities at various points in interference
patterns resulting from two coherent sources.


15-5: Diffraction
Keywords: Diffraction;
OBJECTIVES:State the optical conditions necessary to produce diffraction through
a single slit.Use the equation for the diffraction intensity pattern from single-slit
diffraction to solve for the intensity, the position of various intensities, the size of the
single slit, or the wavelength of the wave.


15-6: Resolving Power
Keywords: Optical Components; Lens Resolution; Rayleigh Criterion;
OBJECTIVES:Describe the conditions under which two point sources of
comparable brightness are just resolved when viewed through a slit or circular
aperture.For two point sources that are just resolved through a given aperture, solve
for the separation, distance, or wavelength of the sources; or solve for the smallest
aperture through which two given point sources can be resolved.


15-7: Diffraction Gratings
Keywords: Diffraction Gratings; Resolving Power; Dispersion;
OBJECTIVES:Solve diffraction-grating problems that ask for the position of the
principal (or most intense) maxima, the order number, the wavelength of the light, or
the optical construction of the diffraction grating.