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ERIC Number: EJ1359656
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022-Sep
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0031-9120
EISSN: EISSN-1361-6552
Available Date: N/A
Shrinking Violet
Hughes, Stephen; Wegener, Margaret; Gurung, Som
Physics Education, v57 n5 Article 055016 Sep 2022
In this paper, a simple method is described for visually demonstrating that the wavelength of light reduces when entering a medium of higher refractive index. When a violet laser (405 nm) is reflected off the surface of a Blu-ray disc (track spacing 320 nm) diffraction cannot occur since the wavelength is greater than the track spacing. However, in water (refractive index 1.33) the wavelength of violet light reduces to 304.5 nm and therefore first-order diffraction can occur when a violet laser is reflected off a Blu-ray disc submerged in water. A violet laser was reflected off a DVD in air, and one diffraction order was seen, but two orders were observed when the disc was immersed in water. Red, green, and violet lasers were reflected off CD, DVD and Blu-ray discs and the number of observed diffraction orders compared with theory. When a violet laser was reflected off a CD in air, three diffraction orders were seen, however five orders were observed in water. The use of tonic water in the experiments enabled the diffraction orders to be seen more easily because violet light causes the quinine in tonic water to fluoresce.
IOP Publishing. 190 North Independence Mall West Suite 601, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 215-627-0880; Fax: 215-627-0879; e-mail: ped@ioppublishing.org; Web site: https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/0031-9120
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: N/A