YOUNG’S DOUBLE-SLIT EXPERIMENT

							           YOUNG’S DOUBLE-SLIT EXPERIMENT

          In 1801, Thomas Young, an English physicist, obtained
convincing evidence for the wave nature of light. He used sunlight
shining on a double slit and viewed the pattern on a distant screen.
If light were a particle, you would expect to see two bright spots
opposite the two slits on the screen. In fact, he saw a series of
bright and dark lines (an interference pattern). This is due to the
light traveling different distances from each slit to the distant
screen causing alternate points of constructive and destructive
interference. You should refer to Section 16-1 in Holt for the
details.
        In this lab you will use a red and green laser and will
determine their respective wavelengths. The separation of the two
slits is 0.2mm.

                            ANALYSIS

   1. Calculate the wavelengths of the lasers and compare to listed
      wavelength.(on laser).
   2. Find your % error and estimate the uncertainty in EACH
      measurement.
   3. EXPLAIN using a diagram how the interference pattern is
      formed.
   4. Sample problem: Monochromatic light falls on two slits
      0.04 mm apart. Successive fringes on a screen 5 meters away
      are 5.5 cm apart near the center of the pattern. What is the
      wavelength and frequency of the light?