Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
According to Huygens’s principle, the amplitude of secondary wavelets is ______.
Options
equal in both the forward and the backward directions.
maximum in the forward direction and zero in the backward direction.
large in the forward direction and small in the backward direction.
small in the forward direction and large in the backward direction.
Advertisements
Solution
According to Huygens’s principle, the amplitude of secondary wavelets is maximum in the forward direction and zero in the backward direction.
Explanation:
According to Huygens’s principle, every point on a wavefront acts as a source of secondary wavelets that spread out in all directions with the same speed as the original wave.
However, in practice:
- The amplitude of secondary wavelets is maximum in the forward direction (the direction of wave propagation).
- It is zero in the backward direction, meaning no wave travels backward.
This is because the backward wavelets interfere destructively, and the forward wavelets combine constructively to form the new wavefront.
RELATED QUESTIONS
Use Huygens' principle to verify the laws of refraction.
The refractive indices of water and diamond are `4/3` and 2.42 respectively. Find the speed of light in water and diamond. (c = 3x108 m/s)
Huygens' principle of secondary wavelets may be used to
(a) find the velocity of light in vacuum
(b) explain the particle behaviour of light
(c) find the new position of a wavefront
(d) explain Snell's Law
Light waves travel in vacuum along the X-axis. Which of the following may represent the wave fronts?
Answer the following question.
Define the term wavefront. Using Huygen's wave theory, verify the law of reflection.
According to Huygen's construction, relation between old and new wavefront is ______.
The inverse square law of intensity is valid for a
Huygen's conception of secondary waves ______.
Two light beams of intensities in the ratio of 9 : 4 are allowed to interfere. The ratio of the intensity of maxima and minima ______.
How is a wavefront different from a ray?
