In a thin film of oil on water, which color is most likely to be seen at normal
Practice Questions
Q1
In a thin film of oil on water, which color is most likely to be seen at normal incidence?
Red
Blue
Green
Yellow
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
In a thin film of oil on water, which color is most likely to be seen at normal incidence?
Step 1: Understand that a thin film of oil on water can create different colors due to light interference.
Step 2: Know that light is made up of different colors, which correspond to different wavelengths.
Step 3: Realize that when light hits the oil film, some light reflects off the top surface and some goes through and reflects off the bottom surface.
Step 4: Understand that the thickness of the oil film affects how these reflected light waves interact with each other.
Step 5: Learn that constructive interference occurs when the waves combine to make a brighter color, and this depends on the thickness of the film.
Step 6: Recognize that for certain thicknesses of the oil film, red light is often the color that shows up most brightly due to constructive interference.
