ERIC Number: EJ1189248
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Sep
Pages: 4
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-921X
EISSN: N/A
A Simple Way to Teach Single Slit Diffraction Based on Edge Diffraction
Teng, Bettina; Teng, Peter; Hennekens, Charles H.
Physics Teacher, v56 n6 p380-383 Sep 2018
Young's experiment is hailed as a milestone in ushering a new understanding of the wave nature of light and is even taught at the high school level. Unfortunately, even the most cursory presentation of the subject of diffraction becomes confusing. The theory and equations based on Fresnel's work appear arcane and incomprehensible to a high school student. In addition, students are "not" taught the significance of a phenomenon that has been observed since the time of Thomas Young: the bright band of light at the center of every single slit diffraction pattern. This paper presents a simple way to introduce the subject of diffraction based on Thomas Young's original work and explains how the interplay of different components of diffracted waves from a single slit creates the broad central maximum.
Descriptors: Science Instruction, Teaching Methods, Physics, Optics, Secondary School Science, High School Students, Science Experiments
American Association of Physics Teachers. One Physics Ellipse, College Park, MD 20740. Tel: 301-209-3300; Fax: 301-209-0845; e-mail: pubs@aapt.org; Web site: http://aapt.scitation.org/journal/pte
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Secondary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A