Interference :

Young’s experiment, coherent sources, phase and path differences, Theory of interference fringes, Fresnel’s biprism, sheet thickness determination, interference in thin films due to reflected and transmitted lights, Maxima and minima in intensities, Colours of thin films, Newton’s rings and its various aspects, Non-reflecting films.

Diffraction:

Introduction, rectilinear propagation, Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction, Diffraction at a circular
aperture and straight edge and their discussion. Fraunhofer diffracnon at a single slit and a double slit. Fraunhofer diffraction at N slits and its discussion. Plane diffraction grating and its theory, Dispersive power of grating, Resolving power of optical instruments, Rayleigh criterion, Resolving power telescope, microscope, prism and diffraction grating. Phase contrast microscope.

Polarization :

Introduction, Polarization by reflection, Brewester’s law,Polarization by reftaction, Malus’s law,
Double retraction, Nicol Prism and its use, elliptically and Circularly polarized light, quarter and half-wave plates, production and detection of plane, circularly and elliptically polarized light, optical activity, specific rotation, Half-shade polarimeter.

Spectrum:

Mercury and sodium lamps, spectra and their classifications, infrared and ultra-violet spectra. Zeeman effect, Stark effect, Raman effect.

Laser and Holography:

Brief features of laser, holography and fibre optics.

Statistical Physics:

Scope of statistical physics, micro and macrostates, thermodynamic probability distribution
of n particles in two compartments, deviation from the state of maximum probability; equilibrium state of dynamic system, distribution of distinguishable particles in compartments and cells, phase space and its division into cells, Boltzmann statistics for ideal gas, Bose-Einstein statistics and its application to black body radiation, Fermi-Dirac statistics and its application to electron gas, comparison of the three statistics.

Thermodynamics:

Statistical basis of entropy, Change of entropy of a system, third law of thermodynamics,
additive nature of entropy, law of increase of entropy, reversible and irreversible processes, increase of entropy in some natural processes, entropy of a perfect gas. Maxwell’s relationships and their applications, cooling produced by adiabatic expansion, adiabatic compression, Cp-Cv, Clapeyron equation, Joule-Thomson effect and its thermodynamic treatment for Van der Waal’s gas and Joule-Thomson cooling, Liquefication of helium.