How to print diffraction gratings?


Theme has earned first place in competition Computer Aided Experiment in Natural Objects, in 2003 year organized by Polish Physical Society.

Detailed description how to print diffraction gratings and Fresnel lens -
MIKOM Publishing House, 2003



Young's Experiment

Printing gratings

Experiments


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Light is very short wave. On section 1 metre light wave has 10 million knolls and valleculae.

Preparing diffraction gratings we will design software to printing it. In darkened room we will execute several instructive experiments.

Young's Experiment




Light at first crosses through individual aperture. If aperture is sufficiently small, we for aperture have coherent light - all rays, treated as waves, have the same phaze of tremblings.

Two waves hit in two apertures and after passage by it they interfere. On-screen we can see strengtheners ( constructive interference) and weakness ( the destructive interference) the stream of light.

The experience is difficult, because apertures are very small (about diameters of line of fraction millimetre). Light is coherent (this means - in the same phaze) and they interfere ( they add up). The programme makes possible the modifying the arrangement of apertures, colour the as well as basic parameters geometrical lights of arrangement.

Download simulation (175 kB)

Printing gratings




The diffraction grating is a lot of (in Young experiment only two) parallel lines, impenetrable for light, situated in even spaces and in very high density. Light waves cross by spaces between these lines and interfere. On screen we can see brighter and darker areas, in which the average square of amplitude be boosted or weak.

The printout of diffraction grating is very serious challenge for printer. Let's estimate more somewhat closely that problem. Typical, home printer be able to print out 600 points on inch in perpendicular direction as well as horizontal. In technical records this parameter defines as 600 dpi (600 dots per inch). 600 points on inch this 24 on millimetre. If between two black pixels is one pixel free space, our grating will can have 12 line on millimetre. This little (good gratings have thousand lines ...), but it should suffice to observe interference.

Download application for printing gratings (159 kB)

Experiments











We get on-screen interference pattern. Perfect, atypical screen is the sensor of internet camera with lens screwed off.

Optical bench according to my idea consists from board and aluminium rail. The optical elements - here the converging lens, individual preliminary crack and second crack from divisive hair they - be fixed to blocks which can move along rail. The projector of slides is the source of light, exactly displaying slide - small aperture.


The hardest to make are two apertures, or better - two cracks for which will happen the interference of light. We stick to two pieces of self-adhesive tape the halfs of razor-blades. Crack should be resoluteness narrower than 1 millimetre. In her centre insert brunette's hair - it would divide one crack on two cracks so.




The interference pattern is registered on-screen - the optical sensor of camera.

(c) Astar'05, 2003.10.20