Abstract
Young’s double-slit experiment is commonly used in undergraduate physics laboratory to show the wave nature of light. As an alternative to expensive commercial kits, here we present an automated, low–cost light intensity measurement setup that allows real-time visualization of the interference pattern. The light intensity is measured by a light dependent resistor placed on the head of a dot matrix printer. The head motion is controlled by an Arduino which also collects the data and send them to a computer. The interference pattern obtained by the setup is in agreement with a model that includes the degree of the coherence of the light source and the effective size related to the light collecting area of the resistor. The apparatus allows quantitative data analysis from the measured light patterns and is suitable to be used in undergraduate physics laboratories.
Highlights
Considered as one of the ten most beautiful experiments in science [1, 2], the classical Thomas Young’s double-slit experiment proved the wave nature of light
Common measurements of the locations of the intensity maxima of the interference pattern can be done with the proposed apparatus
Fitting the data with Eq (2) and using λ= 532±10 nm and L= 625±5 cm, we obtained d= 278±19 μm which is close to the predicted value from microscopy analysis. This reasonable agreement shows the apparatus can be applied to typical double-slit experiments conducted in physics courses to determine the separation between the slits
Summary
Considered as one of the ten most beautiful experiments in science [1, 2], the classical Thomas Young’s double-slit experiment proved the wave nature of light. Besides the importance on the establishment of the wave nature of light, the double-slit experiment was further used to develop the concept of degree of spatial coherence of light [4, 5] This concept has been used, for instance, to determine the coherence properties of manmade ultra-violet [6], ultra-short X-ray [7], and visible [8] light sources. The double-slit experiment is commonly used in physics courses to show the wave nature of light through the observation of the interference pattern on a screen. Knowing the wavelength of the incident light and the distance between the screen and the slits, the students can determine the separation between the slits by measuring the location of the interference maxima. The interference intensity produced by a monochromatic, totally coherent light of wavelength λ as a function of
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