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carrotcake123
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How do I work out what m value (0, 1/2, 1 etc) to put in the thin film interference equations like 2nt = (m + 1/2)*lambda? Does it depend if it's constructive or destructive? Could someone help explain, thanks!
RPinPA said:No, it's always constructive. The question is what path difference causes constructive interference.
I cannot express how grateful I am for this 17 sentence paragraph and how it explained what countless videos, lectures, and textbooks have been somehow unable to convey. Tysm.RPinPA said:No, it's always constructive. The question is what path difference causes constructive interference.
Forget about reflections and thin films for a minute. Suppose I had two sources that were emitting waves exactly in phase. Different places in space will be closer to one point than the other, so there's a path difference. Where will I get constructive interference?
Answer: When the path difference is an integer number of wavelengths.
Now, what if one of my sources was 180 degrees out of phase with the other one? If they travel an equal distance, they cancel out. So where do I have constructive interference?
Answer: When the path difference is an integer + 1/2 number of wavelengths. If the path difference is 1/2 wavelength, then that adds a 180 degree phase shift, which added to the original 180 degree phase difference puts them in phase.
And that's the key to thin films. Look at the two interfaces. You get a 180 degree phase shift when the interface is going from a lower to higher index of refraction, for instance air (n = 1.0) to water (n = 1.33) or water to oil with n = 1.50.
If you get a phase shift from one surface but not the other, then it's going to take an path difference that is an integer + 1/2 number of wavelengths to get them back in phase.
If there's no phase shift at either interface, or there's a phase shift at both interfaces, then to get the two waves in phase means the path difference is an integer number of wavelengths.
Clear?
The "m" value in thin film interference equations represents the order of interference, which is determined by the number of times the light wave reflects off the top and bottom surfaces of the thin film.
The "m" value can be calculated by dividing the thickness of the thin film by the wavelength of the incident light. This will give you the number of times the light wave reflects off the top and bottom surfaces of the thin film.
No, the "m" value must be a positive integer. If the result of the calculation in question 2 is a decimal or a negative number, it means that there is no interference occurring in the thin film.
The "m" value determines the number of bright and dark fringes in the interference pattern. A higher "m" value will result in more fringes, while a lower "m" value will result in fewer fringes.
No, the "m" value is determined by the properties of the thin film and the incident light, and cannot be changed once the interference pattern has been formed. However, changing the thickness or the wavelength of the light can result in a different "m" value and therefore a different interference pattern.