A film of oil on water will appear dark when it is very thin,because the path length difference becomes small comparedwith the wavelength of light and there is a phase shift at thetop surface. If it becomes dark when the path lengthdifference is less than one-fourth the wavelength, what is thethickest the oil can be and appear dark at all visiblewavelengths? Oil has an index of refraction of 1.40.

University Physics Volume 3
17th Edition
ISBN:9781938168185
Author:William Moebs, Jeff Sanny
Publisher:William Moebs, Jeff Sanny
Chapter3: Interference
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 91CP: A film of oil on water will appear dark when it is very thin, because the path length difference...
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A film of oil on water will appear dark when it is very thin,
because the path length difference becomes small compared
with the wavelength of light and there is a phase shift at the
top surface. If it becomes dark when the path length
difference is less than one-fourth the wavelength, what is the
thickest the oil can be and appear dark at all visible
wavelengths? Oil has an index of refraction of 1.40.

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