The document discusses the differences between dispersion, scattering, interference, and diffraction of light. Dispersion is the separation of white light into colors when refracted through a prism. Scattering is the absorption and redirection of light by particles. Interference occurs when light waves superimpose, and diffraction is the bending of light around obstacles.
The document discusses the differences between dispersion, scattering, interference, and diffraction of light. Dispersion is the separation of white light into colors when refracted through a prism. Scattering is the absorption and redirection of light by particles. Interference occurs when light waves superimpose, and diffraction is the bending of light around obstacles.
The document discusses the differences between dispersion, scattering, interference, and diffraction of light. Dispersion is the separation of white light into colors when refracted through a prism. Scattering is the absorption and redirection of light by particles. Interference occurs when light waves superimpose, and diffraction is the bending of light around obstacles.
The document discusses the differences between dispersion, scattering, interference, and diffraction of light. Dispersion is the separation of white light into colors when refracted through a prism. Scattering is the absorption and redirection of light by particles. Interference occurs when light waves superimpose, and diffraction is the bending of light around obstacles.
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Differences of
Dispersion, Scattering, Interference, and Diffraction PHYSICAL SCIENCE Light: A Wave and a Particle.
Light is a wave and a particle at the same
time; as a wave, it can be dispersed, scattered, interfered, and diffracted. DISPERSION What is Dispersion? Dispersion is the separation of white light into its seven color components when there is a refraction or bending of light. White light is composed of the different color spectrum: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Each color has its own wave frequency; different light frequencies bend at different amounts when they pass through a prism. When white light passes through a prism, it will refract two times making the separation of the colors noticeable. Light Scattering What is Light Scattering? Light scattering is the ability of particles to absorb light and scatter it in all directions. Scattering of light components depends on the size of the particles or scatterers; small particles scatter components of short wavelengths (high frequency) while larger particles scatter longer wavelengths (low frequency). Our atmosphere is composed of tiny particles that scatter the color components of white light. The atmosphere has an abundance in nitrogen and oxygen particles, which can scatter higher frequency components of white light. They scatter violet the most, followed by blue, green, and so on. This selective scattering is called the Rayleigh scattering. Our eyes are more sensitive to blue frequencies of light, which is why we see the sky as blue. Another example is the clouds. Clouds appear white because the water droplets in the clouds are larger than the wavelength of light which scatter all the colors of light equally. This type of scattering is known as Mie scattering Diffraction What is Diffraction? Diffraction is the bending of light when it encounters an obstacle or an opening. A shadow is usually formed when light meets an obstacle. The bending of light is not very much noticeable, but when you look around the edges of a shadow, you will notice blurred areas or diffraction fringes; these are the areas where diffraction of light occurs. The amount of diffraction depends on the wavelength of light and the size of the obstacle. Also, the smaller the opening, the greater is the diffraction of light as shown in diagrams A, B, and C below. The longer the wavelength, the greater is the diffraction of light as shown in diagrams D and E below. Example Diffraction effects are sometimes not helpful when viewing objects under the microscope. When the wavelength of light has the same size as the object, diffraction blurs the image. When the wavelength of light is larger than the size of the object, there is no image seen. Interference What is Interference? Interference is the result of the superposing of waves from different sources. If you examine a shadow formed by the diffraction of light, you will see fringes on the edge of the shadow. These fringes or the interference of light waves are the result of the diffraction of light at different sides of the objects or obstacle which causes the shadow to be fuzzy. When this property was observed in the visible light, it was considered as a clear proof of the wave nature of light. Constructive and Destructive Interference Constructive interference happens when two identical parts of two waves meet such as a crest of one wave meets the crest of another wave of the same wavelength; this would result in a new wave with the same wavelength but twice the amplitude. Destructive interference happens when two opposite parts of two waves meet for example a crest of one wave meets the trough of another wave which would result in the cancellation of the two waves. The image below shows diffraction of light from two sources or openings. As the waves from these two openings meet, they interfere and produce interference patterns. The bright fringes are the areas where the waves interfere constructively, while the dark fringes are the areas where the waves interfere destructively. KEY WORDS: Dispersion Dispersion is the separation of visible light into different colors when it passes through a medium such as the lens or prism.
Scattering In physics, scattering is the change of the motion of a particle due to its collision with another particle.
Interference In physics, interference is the net effect of combination of two wave trains that are overlapping each other.
Diffraction Diffraction is the slight bending of the light as it passes through the edges of an object That is all, Thank you for listening!
