OSA Continuum

Measurements of slit-width effects in Young’s double-slit experiment for a partially-coherent source

Brett J. Pearson, Natalie G. Ferris, Ruthie Strauss, Hongyi Li, David P. Jackson

Published Oct 12, 2018• 11 citations

Abstract

We provide measurements of Young’s double-slit experiment using a partially-coherent light source consisting of a helium-neon laser incident on a rotating piece of white paper. The data allow a quantitative comparison with both the standard theory that does not account for the width of the slits, and a full, analytic model that does. The data agree much more favorably with the full calculation.

DOI: 10.1364/osac.1.000755

Related papers

Subtleties with Young's double-slit experiment: Investigation of spatial coherence and fringe visibility

David P. Jackson, Natalie G. Ferris, Ruthie Strauss +2 more

We discuss Young's double-slit experiment using a partially coherent light source consisting of a helium-neon laser incident on a rotating piece of white paper. Such an experiment is appropriate for undergraduate students as an independent project or as part of an advanced lab course. As is well known, the resulting interference pattern is observed to disappear and return, depending on the angular size of the source. Interestingly, while the standard theoretical prediction for the light intensity agrees quite well with experimental data when the fringe visibility is high, the prediction is noticeably off when the visibility is low. A first-principles calculation of the light intensity is performed and shown to agree extremely well with the experimental results for all visibilities.

American Journal of PhysicsAug 23, 201818 citations

Slit-Width Effects in a Double-Slit Experiment with a Partially-Coherent Source

Brett J. Pearson, Natalie G. Ferris, Ruthie Strauss +2 more

We perform a Young’s double-slit experiment using a partially-coherent light source. As compared to the standard theory, the data agree much more favorably with a calculation that fully accounts for the width of the slits.

Frontiers in OpticsJan 1, 20180 citations

Experimental observation of spectral changes of partially coherent light in Young’s experiment

Bharat Kumar Yadav, Syed A. Rizvi, Hem Chandra Kandpal

Experimental observations of a study conducted to investigate spectral shifting and spectral switching that take place in Young's double-slit experiment with partially coherent light are reported. It is shown that for certain critical distances in the near zone of the double slit, the phenomenon of spectral switching is observed, while for other situations a spectral shift is observed. These results are consistent with a theoretical study by Pan and Lu.

Journal of Optics A Pure and Applied OpticsDec 13, 200525 citations

A Young double-slit experiment using a single electron source: Oscillations in the angular distribution of Auger-line width

F. Frémont, R O Barrachina, S Suarez +1 more

We present evidence for two-center interference effects in the autoionization of a Helium atom following a double capture process in a He2+ + H2 collision, by looking, not at the total intensity as in a previous article [1], but at the full width at half maximum of the energy distribution at a function of the observation angle.

Journal of Physics Conference SeriesNov 1, 20090 citations

Young's Double-Slit Experiment Revisited: Geometric Evidence for Center-to-Center Slit Spacing at 650 nm

Mathias Colin

This paper replicates Young’s double-slit experiment using a 650 nm laser to analyze how light waves interfere. By measuring the resulting fringe patterns, the study reveals that the manufacturer's nominal values actually represent the outer-to-outer edge spacing of the slits rather than the true center-to-center distance.

Aug 31, 20260 citations

A New Variant on Young’s Double-slit Experiment and Wheeler’s Delayed Choice Experiment

Yuan Kai

Based on the basic version of the Double-slit experiment, a coherent light source, such as a laser beam, illuminates a plate pierced by two parallel slits, and the light passing through the slits is observed on a screen behind the plate.The wave nature of light causes the light waves passing through the two slits to interfere, producing bright and dark bands on the screen — a result that would not be expected if light consisted of classical particles. Our new variant is as below: We shut one of the two parallel slits once the light passed the slits. Or we keep the two slits shutting and opening randomly in high speed. We believe this variant experiment could lead to a farther fundamental understanding of the Quantum Mechanics.

Aug 1, 20170 citations