In: Physics
An oil film (n = 1.45) floating on the surface of water has white light incident on it at normal angle of incidence (i.e. perpendicular to the film). The film is 280 nm thick. For this problem, you will need to know that the visible spectrum consists of wavelengths of light from 400 to 700 nm.
(a) What type of reflection (hard or soft) occurs at the air-oil interface, and what type of reflection (hard or soft) occurs at the oil-water interface?
(b) Find the three largest wavelengths for which reflection from the film could produce constructive interference. Hint: These correspond to three different values of m.
(c) What colour would be observed for the white light incident on the film? Justify your answer.