Question

Interference is explained by showing a diagram of two parallel waves of light that are in phase or out of phase and showing the result of the fields constructively or destructively interfering. Implicitly it seems to be the case that they are polarised in the same plane as well. What I wanted to know is what this picture looks like when we're talking about unpolarised light.

I'm reading about XRD and Bragg's, and can't seem to find any indication that polarised X-rays are used. And if that isn't the case, then even if two waves are in phase, the net E fields are polarised in random directions to each other and wouldn't undergo constructive interference. Where am I going wrong here?
A) Unpolarized light waves can't undergo constructive interference due to random polarization directions.

B) Unpolarized light waves constructively interfere only when they align perfectly in phase.

C) Unpolarized light waves in constructive interference align in phase despite their random polarization directions.

D) Unpolarized light waves always undergo destructive interference, regardless of their phase alignment.

Answer 1

Unpolarized light waves can undergo constructive interference even if their polarization directions are random. The correct answer is option A.

Step-by-step explanation:

Unpolarized light waves can undergo constructive interference even if their polarization directions are random. Constructive interference occurs when the waves have the same phase, which means that their crests and troughs line up. The polarization direction does not affect the phase of the waves. So, even though the net electric fields of unpolarized light waves are randomly oriented, they can still align perfectly in phase and undergo constructive interference.