# 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Diffraction of Light/2

See also Diffraction of Light on Wikipedia; and our 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica disclaimer.
​2. Shadows.—In the infancy of the undulatory theory the objection most frequently urged against it was the difficulty of explaining the very existence of shadows. Thanks to Fresnel and his followers, this department of optics is now precisely the one in which the theory has gained its greatest triumphs. The principle employed in these investigations is due to C. Huygens, and may be thus formulated. If round the origin of waves an ideal closed surface be drawn, the whole action of the waves in the region beyond may be regarded as due to the motion continually propagated across the various elements of this surface. The wave motion due to any element of the surface is called a secondary wave, and in estimating the total effect regard must be paid to the phases as well as the amplitudes of the components. It is usually convenient to choose as the surface of resolution a wave-front, i.e. a surface at which the primary vibrations are in one phase. Any obscurity that may hang over Huygens’s principle is due mainly to the indefiniteness of thought and expression which we must be content to put up with if we wish to avoid pledging ourselves as to the character of the vibrations. In the application to sound, where we know what we are dealing with, the matter is simple enough in principle, although mathematical difficulties would often stand in the way of the calculations we might wish to make. ​The ideal surface of resolution may be there regarded as a flexible lamina; and we know that, if by forces locally applied every element of the lamina be made to move normally to itself exactly as the air at that place does, the external aerial motion is fully determined. By the principle of superposition the whole effect may be found by integration of the partial effects due to each element of the surface, the other elements remaining at rest.
* Fig. 1.
We will now consider in detail the important case in which uniform plane waves are resolved at a surface coincident with a wave-front (OQ). We imagine a wave-front divided into elementary rings or zones—often named after Huygens, but better after Fresnel—by spheres described round P (the point at which the aggregate effect is to be estimated), the first sphere, touching the plane at O, with a radius equal to PO, and the succeeding spheres with radii increasing at each step by 1/2λ. There are thus marked out a series of circles, whose radii x are given by x$^2$ + r $^2$ = (r + 1/2nλ)$^2$, or x$^2$ = nλr nearly; so that the rings are at first of nearly equal area. Now the effect upon P of each element of the plane is proportional to its area; but it depends also upon the distance from P, and possibly upon the inclination of the secondary ray to the direction of vibration and to the wave-front.
The latter question can only be treated in connexion with the dynamical theory (see below, § 11); but under all ordinary circumstances the result is independent of the precise answer that may be given. All that it is necessary to assume is that the effects of the successive zones gradually diminish, whether from the increasing obliquity of the secondary ray or because (on account of the limitation of the region of integration) the zones become at last more and more incomplete. The component vibrations at P due to the successive zones are thus nearly equal in amplitude and opposite in phase (the phase of each corresponding to that of the infinitesimal circle midway between the boundaries), and the series which we have to sum is one in which the terms are alternately opposite in sign and, while at first nearly constant in numerical magnitude, gradually diminish to zero. In such a series each term may be regarded as very nearly indeed destroyed by the halves of its immediate neighbours, and thus the sum of the whole series is represented by half the first term, which stands over uncompensated. The question is thus reduced to that of finding the effect of the first zone, or central circle, of which the area is πλr.
We have seen that the problem before us is independent of the law of the secondary wave as regards obliquity; but the result of the integration necessarily involves the law of the intensity and phase of a secondary wave as a function of r, the distance from the origin. And we may in fact, as was done by A. Smith (Camb. Math. Journ., 1843, 3, p. 46), determine the law of the secondary wave, by comparing the result of the integration with that obtained by supposing the primary wave to pass on to P without resolution.
Now as to the phase of the secondary wave, it might appear natural to suppose that it starts from any point Q with the phase of the primary wave, so that on arrival at P, it is retarded by the amount corresponding to QP. But a little consideration will prove that in that case the series of secondary waves could not reconstitute the primary wave. For the aggregate effect of the secondary waves is the half of that of the first Fresnel zone, and it is the central element only of that zone for which the distance to be travelled is equal to r. Let us conceive the zone in question to be divided into infinitesimal rings of equal area. The effects due to each of these rings are equal in amplitude and of phase ranging uniformly over half a complete period. The phase of the resultant is midway between those of the extreme elements, that is to say, a quarter of a period behind that due to the element at the centre of the circle. It is accordingly necessary to suppose that the secondary waves start with a phase one-quarter of a period in advance of that of the primary wave at the surface of resolution.
Further, it is evident that account must be taken of the variation of phase in estimating the magnitude of the effect at P of the first zone. The middle element alone contributes without deduction; the effect of every other must be found by introduction of a resolving factor, equal to cos θ, if θ represent the difference of phase between this element and the resultant. Accordingly, the amplitude of the resultant will be less than if all its components had the same phase, in the ratio
$\int _{-{\frac {1}{2}}\pi }^{+{\frac {1}{2}}\pi }\cos \theta d\theta :\pi ,$
or 2: π. Now 2 area /π = 2λr; so that, in order to reconcile the amplitude of the primary wave (taken as unity) with the half effect of the first zone, the amplitude, at distance r, of the secondary wave emitted from the element of area dS must be taken to be
| dS/λr | (1). |
By this expression, in conjunction with the quarter-period acceleration of phase, the law of the secondary wave is determined.
That the amplitude of the secondary wave should vary as r $^{−1}$ was to be expected from considerations respecting energy; but the occurrence of the factor λ$^{−1}$, and the acceleration of phase, have sometimes been regarded as mysterious. It may be well therefore to remember that precisely these laws apply to a secondary wave of sound, which can be investigated upon the strictest mechanical principles.
The recomposition of the secondary waves may also be treated analytically. If the primary wave at O be cos kat, the effect of the secondary wave proceeding from the element dS at Q is
${\frac {d\mathrm {S} }{\lambda \rho }}\cos k(at-\rho +{\frac {1}{4}}\lambda )=-{\frac {d\mathrm {S} }{\lambda \rho }}\sin k(at-\rho ).$
If dS = 2πxdx, we have for the whole effect
$-{\frac {2\pi }{\lambda }}\int _{0}^{\infty }{\frac {\sin k(at-\rho )xdx}{\rho }},$
or, since xdx = ρdρ, k = 2π/λ,
$-k\int _{r}^{\infty }\sin k(at-\rho )d\rho ={\bigg-\cos k(at-\rho ){\bigg ]}_{r}^{\infty }.$
In order to obtain the effect of the primary wave, as retarded by traversing the distance r, viz. cos k(at − r ), it is necessary to suppose that the integrated term vanishes at the upper limit. And it is important to notice that without some further understanding the integral is really ambiguous. According to the assumed law of the secondary wave, the result must actually depend upon the precise radius of the outer boundary of the region of integration, supposed to be exactly circular. This case is, however, at most very special and exceptional. We may usually suppose that a large number of the outer rings are incomplete, so that the integrated term at the upper limit may properly be taken to vanish. If a formal proof be desired, it may be obtained by introducing into the integral a factor such as e$^{−hρ}$, in which h is ultimately made to diminish without limit.
When the primary wave is plane, the area of the first Fresnel zone is πλr, and, since the secondary waves vary as r $^{−1}$, the intensity is independent of r, as of course it should be. If, however, the primary wave be spherical, and of radius a at the wave-front of resolution, then we know that at a distance r further on the amplitude of the primary wave will be diminished in the ratio a : (r + a). This may be regarded as a consequence of the altered area of the first Fresnel zone. For, if x be its radius, we have
{(r + 1/2λ)$^2$ − x$^2$} + √ {a$^2$ − x$^2$}＝r + a,
so that
x$^2$＝λar /(a + r ) nearly.
Since the distance to be travelled by the secondary waves is still r, we see how the effect of the first zone, and therefore of the whole series is proportional to a/(a + r ). In like manner may be treated other cases, such as that of a primary wave-front of unequal principal curvatures.
The general explanation of the formation of shadows may also be conveniently based upon Fresnel’s zones. If the point under consideration be so far away from the geometrical shadow that a large number of the earlier zones are complete, then the illumination, determined sensibly by the first zone, is the same as if there were no obstruction at all. If, on the other hand, the point be well immersed in the geometrical shadow, the earlier zones are altogether missing, and, instead of a series of terms beginning with finite numerical magnitude and gradually diminishing to zero, we have now to deal with one of which the terms diminish to zero at both ends. The sum of such a series is very approximately zero, each term being neutralized by the halves of its immediate neighbours, which are of the opposite sign. The question of light or darkness then depends upon whether the series begins or ends abruptly. With few exceptions, abruptness can occur only in the presence of the first term, viz. when the secondary wave of least retardation is unobstructed, or when a ray passes through the point under consideration. According to the undulatory theory the light cannot be regarded strictly as travelling along a ray; but the existence of an unobstructed ray implies that the system of Fresnel’s zones can be commenced, and, if a large number of these zones are fully developed and do not terminate abruptly, the illumination is unaffected by the neighbourhood of obstacles. Intermediate cases in which a few zones only are formed belong especially to the province of diffraction.
An interesting exception to the general rule that full brightness requires the existence of the first zone occurs when the obstacle assumes the form of a small circular disk parallel to the plane of the incident waves. In the earlier half of the 18th century R. Delisle found that the centre of the circular shadow was occupied by a bright point of light, but the observation passed into oblivion until S. D. Poisson brought forward as an objection to Fresnel’s theory that it required at the centre of a circular shadow a point as bright as if no obstacle were intervening. If we conceive the primary wave to be broken up at the plane of the disk, a system of Fresnel’s zones can be constructed which begin from the circumference; and the first zone external to the disk plays the part ordinarily taken by the centre of the entire system. The whole effect is the ​half of that of the first existing zone, and this is sensibly the same as if there were no obstruction.
When light passes through a small circular or annular aperture, the illumination at any point along the axis depends upon the precise relation between the aperture and the distance from it at which the point is taken. If, as in the last paragraph, we imagine a system of zones to be drawn commencing from the inner circular boundary of the aperture, the question turns upon the manner in which the series terminates at the outer boundary. If the aperture be such as to fit exactly an integral number of zones, the aggregate effect may be regarded as the half of those due to the first and last zones. If the number of zones be even, the action of the first and last zones are antagonistic, and there is complete darkness at the point. If on the other hand the number of zones be odd, the effects conspire; and the illumination (proportional to the square of the amplitude) is four times as great as if there were no obstruction at all.
The process of augmenting the resultant illumination at a particular point by stopping some of the secondary rays may be carried much further (Soret, Pogg. Ann., 1875, 156, p. 99). By the aid of photography it is easy to prepare a plate, transparent where the zones of odd order fall, and opaque where those of even order fall. Such a plate has the power of a condensing lens, and gives an illumination out of all proportion to what could be obtained without it. An even greater effect (fourfold) can be attained by providing that the stoppage of the light from the alternate zones is replaced by a phase-reversal without loss of amplitude. R. W. Wood (Phil. Mag., 1898, 45, p. 513) has succeeded in constructing zone plates upon this principle.
In such experiments the narrowness of the zones renders necessary a pretty close approximation to the geometrical conditions. Thus in the case of the circular disk, equidistant (r ) from the source of light and from the screen upon which the shadow is observed, the width of the first exterior zone is given by
dx＝λ(2r )/4(2x),
2x being the diameter of the disk. If 2r＝1000 cm., 2x＝1 cm., λ＝6 × 10$^{−5}$ cm., then dx＝·0015 cm. Hence, in order that this zone may be perfectly formed, there should be no error in the circumference of the order of ·001 cm. (It is easy to see that the radius of the bright spot is of the same order of magnitude.) The experiment succeeds in a dark room of the length above mentioned, with a threepenny bit (supported by three threads) as obstacle, the origin of light being a small needle hole in a plate of tin, through which the sun’s rays shine horizontally after reflection from an external mirror. In the absence of a heliostat it is more convenient to obtain a point of light with the aid of a lens of short focus.
The amplitude of the light at any point in the axis, when plane waves are incident perpendicularly upon an annular aperture, is, as above,
cos k(at − r $_1$) − cos k(at − r $_2$)＝2 sin kat sin k(r$_1$ − r $_2$),
r $_2$, r $_1$ being the distances of the outer and inner boundaries from the point in question. It is scarcely necessary to remark that in all such cases the calculation applies in the first instance to homogeneous light, and that, in accordance with Fourier’s theorem, each homogeneous component of a mixture may be treated separately. When the original light is white, the presence of some components and the absence of others will usually give rise to coloured effects, variable with the precise circumstances of the case.
Although the matter can be fully treated only upon the basis of a dynamical theory, it is proper to point out at once that there is an element of assumption in the application of Huygens’s principle to the calculation of the effects produced by opaque screens of limited extent. Properly applied, the principle could not fail; but, as may readily be proved in the case of sonorous waves, it is not in strictness sufficient to assume the expression for a secondary wave suitable when the primary wave is undisturbed, with mere limitation of the integration to the transparent parts of the screen. But, except perhaps in the case of very fine gratings, it is probable that the error thus caused is insignificant; for the incorrect estimation of the secondary waves will be limited to distances of a few wave-lengths only from the boundary of opaque and transparent parts.