ADDIS ABABA UNIVERSITY
College of Natural and computational
science
Department of physics
Experiment in Electromagnetism
Experiment 6:- Determination of the wave
length of light using diffraction grating
Group Members ……………………………….ID Numbers
1. Yaphet Seid………………………………………..UGR/8163/16
2. Bereket Tesfamariam………………………...UGR/5079/16
3. Alula Solomon………………………..………….UGR/3692/16
Submitted to: Mr. Tesfaye mola
Submission Date: May 14, 2025
Determination of the wave length of light using
diffraction grating
Objective
To measure wavelength of some spectral line in the light source spectrum with the
diffraction grating.
Aparatus
Spectrometer
Transmission diffraction grating
Mercury Light source
Theory
A diffraction grating consists of a large number of equally spaced parallel slits. When
monochromatic light (such as from a mercury lamp) passes through the grating, it is
diffracted and produces bright maxima at specific angles. These angles depend on
the wavelength of the light.By measuring the angle at which these maxima occur, it
is possible to calculate the wave length of the light.
A diffraction grating is a precisely engineered optical component that disperses light
into its component wavelengths. It consists of a large number of closely spaced,
parallel lines or grooves often in the range of hundreds to thousands per millimeter
etched or ruled onto a surface. These grooves act as tiny slits that interfere with
incoming light, producing diffracted beams at specific angles.
Depending on how the grating is constructed and used, it can either be:
Transmissive (light passes through it)
Reflective (light reflects off it)
The fundamental operation of a diffraction grating is based on the principle of
interference and diffraction.
When monochromatic light (light of a single wavelength) strikes a diffraction grating,
it diffracts through or reflects off the multiple slits or grooves. The beams emerging
from different slits interfere with one another. Constructive interference (bright
fringes) occurs when the path difference between rays from adjacent slits satisfies
the equation nλ = d sinθ
Where:
• λ = wavelength of the light
• n = order of the diffraction (1st, 2nd, etc.)
• d = spacing between two adjacent slits in the grating
• θ = angle of diffraction for the n-th order maximum
d is the grating constant and is the reciprocal of the number of lines per meter:
d = 1 / N (if grating has N lines per meter)
Spectrometer is an instrument for measuring angle of diviation of light rays resulting
from reflaction, refraction or difraction.
Spectrometer looks like the above image
Procedure
1,set up the the light source (mercury vapour lamp) for it to be directed to the
collimeter of the spectrometer so that parallel beams be produced
2,using the spectrometer find the diffraction angle θ from where we find sharp line
for each wavelength
3,then by find the grating spacing d. the grating is 600lines per mm so d=1/600*10 -3
d=1.67*106
4,find the value of λ using the formula nλ = d sinθ So λ=dsinθ/n
Data collected
Θinitial=72 20/60
color Θ1 Θ2 Order(n)
Purple 86 40/60 (86.67) 57 40/60 (57.67) 1st
Green 90 40/60 (90.67) 54 1st
Yellow 91 40/60 (91.67) 52 40/ 60 (52.67) 1st
Lets first find the angular deviation using the formula θ=1/2(Θ1-Θ2)
For purple
θ=1/2(86.67-57.67)=14.5
λ=1.67*106sin(14.5)/1
λ=417nm
For Green
θ=1/2(90.67-54)=18.33
λ=1.67*106sin(18.33)/1
λ=524nm
For yellow
θ=1/2(91.67-52.67)=19.5
λ=1.67*106sin(19.5)/1
λ=557nm
Color Diffraction Angle (°) Wavelength (nm)
Purple 14.50 417 nm
Green 18.33 524 nm
Yellow 19.50 557 nm
Questions
1. How many orders can be observed with the
grating used? What determines the number of
orders of spectra that can be used?
The maximum number of observable orders (n_max) is determined by the grating
equation:
nλ = d sinθ
where d is the grating spacing.
The maximum order n occurs when sinθ = 1, i.e.,
n_max = floor(d / λ)
Thus, the number of observable orders depends on:
- The grating spacing (d)
- The wavelength (λ)
- The angular resolution limits of the setup.
2. Explain why no spectrum is observed, if the
telescope is in line with the grating and slit. What is
observed in this position?
If the telescope is in line with the slit and grating (i.e., at θ = 0), it only sees the
zeroth-order beam (direct light, undeviated).
No diffraction occurs at this angle for higher orders; hence, no spectrum is observed
except for a white spot (zeroth order).
3. What would be the effect on the results of the
experiment if a grating with fewer lines had been
used?
Fewer lines result in a larger grating spacing (d), leading to smaller diffraction angles.
This causes:
- Lower dispersion (spectral lines closer together)
- Reduced resolution
- Possibly fewer observable orders
4. Derive the grating equation.
Consider a grating with spacing d and normal incident light.
Path difference between adjacent slits = d sinθ
Constructive interference condition: d sinθ = nλ wher n is order of diffraction
5. Define the dispersion D of a grating.
Dispersion (D) is the angular separation per unit wavelength:
D = dθ/dλ
6. Show that the dispersion of a grating can be
written as: D = tanθ / λ
From grating equation: d sinθ = nλ
Differentiate w.r.t. λ:
d cosθ dθ/dλ = n ⇒ dθ/dλ = n / (d cosθ)
Now, using tanθ = (nλ/d) / cosθ, so:
tanθ / λ = n / (d cosθ) = D
7. Calculate the dispersion of your grating for one
of the lines.
D = tanθ / λ
Purple
D=tan(14.5)/417*10-9
D=6.02*1014
Green
D=tan(18.33)/417*10-9
D=6.32*1014
Yellow
D=tan(19.5)/417*10-9
D=6.36*1014
8. Show that the error equation for is: Δλ/λ = Δa/a +
Δθ_n cotθ_n
Start from the grating equation: nλ = a sinθ_n
Differentiate:
nΔλ = sinθ_n Δa + a cosθ_n Δθ_n
Divide by nλ:
Δλ/λ = Δa/a + Δθ_n cotθ_n
Conclusion
In this experiment, we successfully determined the wavelengths of mercury light
using a diffraction grating with 600 lines per millimeter. By measuring the angular
positions of spectral lines on both sides of the central maximum and applying the
diffraction equation, we calculated the wavelengths of three prominent lines—
purple, green, and yellow—as approximately 417 nm, 524 nm, and 557 nm,
respectively. These values are in close agreement with the known spectral lines of
mercury, validating the accuracy of our method.
Additionally, the dispersion of the grating was calculated for each line using the
relation D = tan(θ)/λ, revealing that dispersion increases slightly with wavelength.
This indicates the grating’s ability to resolve closely spaced spectral lines, an
important feature for high-resolution spectroscopy.
Overall, the experiment demonstrated a clear understanding of diffraction principles,
the practical use of a spectrometer, and the capability of a diffraction grating to
analyze light spectra with precision.
