Optics Series Lecture, Lecture – VII.
“Conditions of interference, Interference of two plane harmonic waves.”
This lecture was delivered on 7th February in a lecture session of 1 and 1/2 hours. This lecture was delivered to Physics elective students but intended as a lecture towards Honors students at a later date.
Electromagnetic Waves.
Light is an electromagnetic wave. In-fact its a transverse electromagnetic wave which means the oscillation of E and B fields produces light which propagates in a direction that is perpendicular to the plane that contains the E and B fields. In other words E, B and k the vector that denotes the direction of light propagation, are mutually perpendicular vectors.
We will study these details in a later intended lecture. EM waves are not only transverse waves but also vector waves, that is; E and B are vector fields whose undulation is summarized as light.
Light is a general name for all EM waves but visible light is that particular part of EM waves which has frequency of wave such that the wavelength varies from approximately 400 – 700 nm. In vacuum — only in vacuum, light always moves at a fixed speed: namely c = 3×108 m/s. Therefore light whose wavelength lies between 400 – 700 nm is called as visible light: we can write in vacuum c = νλ.
Light as a transverse wave phenomenon of vector fields is comprehensively described by four equations known as Maxwell’s Equations. The Maxwell’s Equations are a summary of important and fundamental laws of electricity and magnetism — together called as electromagnetism, such as Gauss Law and Ampere’s Law. These equations produce the wave equation of motion, a linear, homogeneous, 2nd order differential equation that we will study a few lectures afterwards.
If you are quite serious and technically well equipped though, you can have a glimpse of it all — and may be work out to your satisfaction, by following the link to my slide-share presentations. There are many other important Physics concepts that are worked out in great detail, in those slide-share presentations by me. eg check: Electromagnetic Waves.
Let us therefore write the wave equation of motion, where the 3 components of E field — such as Ex, Ey or Ez or the 3 components of B field such as Bx, By, Bz, are denoted as ψ chosen anyone at one time. eg we can chose Ex = ψ. In general we have:
