Kentucky Community & Technical College System
Finding Wavelengths of Laser Light Using a Diffraction Grating
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Aseem Talukdar; G. Michael Shifflett
Abstract
Diffraction of light refers to the phenomenon of bending of light as it passes the edge of an object. As a result of this light can spread into the object's geometrical shadow. Diffraction of light demonstrates its wave-like nature and occurs as a consequence of the way in which waves propagate. It is described by the Hugens principle and the superposition principle of waves. When light encounters an obstacle, such as a single or double slit, it emits secondary wavelets. When monochromatic light passes through a diffraction grating, it produces a series of maxima at locations which can be predicted mathematically to determine graphically the wavelength of light from the measurements. In this experiment green and red lasers were used. The wavelength of red laser light was calculated as 648 nm and the wavelength of green laser light was calculated as 524 nm, both of which are within 3% of the tabulated values.
Finding Wavelengths of Laser Light Using a Diffraction Grating
Diffraction of light refers to the phenomenon of bending of light as it passes the edge of an object. As a result of this light can spread into the object's geometrical shadow. Diffraction of light demonstrates its wave-like nature and occurs as a consequence of the way in which waves propagate. It is described by the Hugens principle and the superposition principle of waves. When light encounters an obstacle, such as a single or double slit, it emits secondary wavelets. When monochromatic light passes through a diffraction grating, it produces a series of maxima at locations which can be predicted mathematically to determine graphically the wavelength of light from the measurements. In this experiment green and red lasers were used. The wavelength of red laser light was calculated as 648 nm and the wavelength of green laser light was calculated as 524 nm, both of which are within 3% of the tabulated values.