The colorful displays seen in oil films and soap bubbles can be explained by
Added by Jes-S B.
Step 1
Step 1: Recognize that the colorful displays in oil films and soap bubbles are due to the interaction of light waves reflecting off different surfaces. Show more…
Show all steps
Your feedback will help us improve your experience
Adi S and 63 other Physics 101 Mechanics educators are ready to help you.
Ask a new question
Labs
Want to see this concept in action?
Explore this concept interactively to see how it behaves as you change inputs.
Key Concepts
Recommended Videos
Thin films of soap sometimes display an array of colors. This display is the result of reflection, interference, and polarization.
Adi S.
Assertion Thin films such as soap bubble or a thin layer of oil on water show beautiful colours when illuminated by white light. Reason It happens due to the interference of light reflected from the upper surface of the thin film.
Wave Optics
Round 2
Procedure: It is a simple matter to produce soap films that demonstrate thin-film interference phenomena. Place a few drops of liquid dish-washing detergent in a shallow bowl and add enough water to form a reasonably fluid solution. Bend a piece of wire into a closed-loop, leaving a small length to serve as a handle. (Alternatively, you can purchase bubble-making solution with the wire loop included for a very small cost.) Question 1: Dip the loop in the soap solution to form a soap film in the plane of the loop. Reflect light from a desk lamp from the film. Describe the colored patterns that you see. Question 2: If you hold the loop in a vertical plane, the colors should settle into a pattern of horizontal bands. Sketch the bands that you see indicating both their color and width. Explain why we get horizontal bands. Question 3: Try illuminating your soap film first with a frosted incandescent lamp and then with a fluorescent lamp. Describe the differences that you see.
Sri K.
Recommended Textbooks
University Physics with Modern Physics
Physics: Principles with Applications
Fundamentals of Physics
Transcript
18,000,000+
Students on Numerade
Trusted by students at 8,000+ universities
Watch the video solution with this free unlock.
EMAIL
PASSWORD