Sps Demo Light Hair Diffraction

Hair Diffraction
Workshop
Participants use a hair to show how light can

interfere to produce a diffraction pattern.
Number of Participants: Unlimited

Age Range: Elementary (5-10) and up
Duration: 20-30 minutes
Difficulty: Level 1
Materials Required:
Stony Brook University
• 2 Laser pointers of the same known
wavelength
• A hair
• Tape
• Ruler
Setup:
1. Tape a strand of hair over the source of a standard low power laser pointer. Make sure
that the tape does not influence the beam path.
2. If desired, tape the on button down so that the point can be mounted or placed easily
while still lasing.
3. Point the laser pointer at a wall such that it displays a diffraction pattern. Note that the
larger the distance from the wall, the better the length measurements are but the weaker
the observed pattern will be. A dark or dim room is recommended.
4. Mark the darkest spots of the pattern (minima) on a sheet of paper or chalk board.
Measure the distance between the center bright spot to each minima to find the hair
diameter.
Presenter Brief:
Briefly introduce the idea of a laser. Highlight that small obstructions can cause the wavelike
behavior of light be evident. Explain what diffraction is. Highlight the differences between single-
and double-slit diffraction.
Hair Diffraction
Vocabulary:
• Interference – Interaction between waves that can either increase their amplitude
(constructive), or decrease it (destructive).
• Diffraction – Light’s interaction with narrow slits or edges which causes it to spread out.
• Fringe – The interference pattern that arises from diffraction.
Physics & Explanation:
Elementary (ages 5-10):

When encountering a small obstacle, waves of light spread around the obstacle and
interfere with each other. This effect, called diffraction, is an example of the wave-like
nature of light.
Collect a thick strand of hair (darker colors are usually thicker) from a volunteer.
Place the hair over the front of the laser and display the diffraction pattern on the
wall.
Collect a thin strand of hair (lighter colors are usually thinner) from a volunteer.
Display the diffraction pattern using another laser of the same wavelength.
Light is made of individual particles, called photons. Photons display the properties
of waves, including diffraction. The diffraction patterns generated by different people’s
hair will vary because the diameter of each hair is different. The differences can be used
to identify hair thickness to a high accuracy.
Middle (ages 11-13) and general public:

After completing the previous section:
The pattern of alternating bright and dark
spots occurs because of constructive and
destructive interference. When waves interact
constructively, light intensity adds, as seen in Figure 1: Constructive (Left) and Destructive (Right)
Figures 1 and 2. Destructive interference linear superposition of waves. Modified from: original
occurs when waves are out of sync by an odd version: Haade; vectorization: Wjh31, Quibik
(Vecorized from File:Interference of two waves.png)
multiple of one-half wavelength (meaning [CC BY-SA 3.0
peaks and troughs perfectly overlap) and (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or
GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via
effectively cancel. Both constructive and Wikimedia Commons
destructive interfernece are shown in Figures
1 and 2.
spsnational.org/outreach 2
Hair Diffraction
Display or replicate Figures 1 and 2 to

illustrate constructive and destructive
interference. Show the diffraction
pattern again to highlight the
destructive interference occurring at
the minima.
Destructive interference of the light waves
is seen in the dark spots of the diffraction
pattern.
When the laser passes around a hair, laser Figure 2: Diffraction pattern of two identical sources.
By en:User:Lacatosias, User:Stannered
light diffracts (or bends around a hair), (Image:Ebohr1.png) [GFDL
effectively making two sources that are close (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-
to each other. Thus, if you look at the pattern 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/)],
via Wikimedia Commons
on the wall, some light must travel a greater
distance before reaching a point on the wall. If the difference in distance traveled to a
given point of two waves is equal to exactly an odd multiple of one-half of a photon
wavelength, the maximum of one wave cancels with the minimum of another wave, and
the waves cancel. This is called destructive interference.
Point out the relationship between hair diameter and angle. As the hair gets
thinner, the distance between minima gets larger.
After passing the hair, the light rays travel different distances before reaching the
wall. The waves either add together or cancel each other out to make the diffraction
pattern on the wall.
High School (14 +):

The approximate distance from the central
maximum to a given minimum is given by 𝑦𝑦𝑚𝑚 ,
where 𝑚𝑚 is the number of minimum as counted
from the center is given by:
𝜆𝜆𝜆𝜆
𝑦𝑦𝑚𝑚 = 𝑚𝑚
𝑑𝑑
where the wavelength of light is 𝜆𝜆, the distance from the laser to the wall is 𝐷𝐷, and the
diameter of the hair is d.
Since measuring the width of the hair is difficult, we can instead measure the diffraction
pattern minima 𝑦𝑦𝑚𝑚 and the distance from the wall to the laser 𝐷𝐷 to solve the above
equation for the hair diameter 𝑑𝑑. The wavelength of your laser 𝜆𝜆 is printed on the label
or can be researched1. For example, many inexpensive red laser pointers operate at
~650 nm. Solve maximum distance 𝑦𝑦𝑚𝑚 for the hair diameter 𝑑𝑑 with 𝑚𝑚 = 1
Hair Diffraction
𝜆𝜆𝜆𝜆
𝑑𝑑 =
𝑦𝑦1
Place a sheet of paper on the wall and instruct the participant to mark the central
maximum with a line. Next, mark the 3-4 minima (dark spots) closest to the
maximum. Measure the separation of dark spots and the distance between the
laser and the wall. Using the equation above, find the width of the hair. Human
hairs usual range between 20 μm and 200 μm in diameter.
Calculate the width of an obstacle (hair) if the wavelength of the laser light is known.
Explore how this varies from person to person.
Additional Resources:
• Experiments with Diffraction
http://www.optics.rochester.edu/workgroups/berger/EDay/EDay2008_Diffraction.
pdf
• 2010 Sock
https://www.spsnational.org/sites/default/files/files/programs/2009/sock/2010-
sps-sock-manual-final.pdf
• Hecht. Optics, 1998. 499-501.
• Pedrotti, Frank L. and Pedrotti, Leno S. Introduction to Optics, 1997. 31-36.
• 1https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_laser_types
Hair Diffraction
Useful Equations:
Distance from 𝜆𝜆𝜆𝜆
central bright spot 𝑦𝑦𝑚𝑚 = 𝑚𝑚
to dark spot 𝑑𝑑
𝑑𝑑 − 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 (𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎)

𝜃𝜃 − 𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐𝑐 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑡𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑒 𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚𝑚
𝜆𝜆 − 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙ℎ𝑡𝑡
𝐷𝐷 − 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙𝑙 𝑡𝑡𝑡𝑡 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤
𝑚𝑚 − 𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓𝑓 𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛𝑛

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Hair Diffraction

Participants use a hair to show how light can

Number of Participants: Unlimited

Physics & Explanation:

Elementary (ages 5-10):

Middle (ages 11-13) and general public:

Display or replicate Figures 1 and 2 to

High School (14 +):

𝑑𝑑 − 𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤𝑤ℎ 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠𝑠 (𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑𝑑 𝑜𝑜𝑜𝑜 ℎ𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎𝑎)

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