Diffraction Gratings Flashcards
(12 cards)
What are diffraction gratings?
Flat arrays of regularly spaced lines designed to break up a plane wave-front into separate wave sources.
What creates a path difference in light waves?
Dividing a light source so that separate rays of light travel different paths.
What occurs when the path difference equals a whole number of wavelengths?
Constructive interference occurs, resulting in a bright fringe.
What does the straight-ahead beam in a diffraction grating indicate?
It has no path difference and is not split into a spectrum.
What is produced when light has a mixture of wavelengths in a diffraction grating?
A set of coloured line spectra rather than just bright fringes.
What is an emission spectrum?
The light emitted when electrons in atoms are excited by heating or electric discharge.
What do flame tests utilize to identify elements?
The characteristic emission spectra of elements.
What are nodes in a stationary wave?
Points of no displacement where destructive interference occurs.
What is a resonator?
A device that stores wave energy and allows for efficient wave generation at a natural frequency.
Fill in the blank: The colour of the flame test indicates _______.
sodium.
True or False: The path difference decreases as the angle of scattering increases.
False.
What information can be deduced from measurements of line frequencies in the emission spectrum of a gas sample?
The electronic structure of the elements present.
