Add another color to your diffraction lab

Better than a laser pointer

Unlike a laser pointer, this green diode laser plugs into the wall, so there is no worry about batteries going dead during lab.

While most green laser pointers are 5 mW, we designed this one to be less than 1 mW so it is safer for classroom use.

Easy laser alignment

The laser is mounted at the correct height to match other components on the optics bench in the PASCO Basic Optics System. Alignment of the beam through the slits is made easy by the adjustment screws on the back of the laser. The beam can be aimed through the slits using these two thumb screws. Once the beam is aligned, either the laser or the slits can be removed from the optics bench are returned to the bench without re-aligning the beam.

PASCO's unique diffraction pattern scanning system

The Sensor-based Diffraction Kit (OS-8452) make sensors an integral part of the optics bench, allowing the diffraction patterns to be scanned into the Xplorer GLX or any computer equipped with a PASCO interface.

Light intensity patterns are scanned into the computer in real time

In this unique scanning system, the diffraction pattern is scanned using a light sensor attached to a Rotary Motion Sensor. As the wheel on the Rotary Motion Sensor is rotated by hand, the Rotary Motion Sensor moves along a gear rack (called the Linear Translator). Students make the association between the diffraction pattern they see and the real-time graph of the light intensity versus position.

Change slits in the dark without re-aligning everything

The slit wheels eliminate the frustration of trying to change the slits in a darkened room. To change the slit being illuminated by the laser, the slit wheel is simply rotated to the next positive click to lock another slit into position. The alignment of the disk only has to be done once; thereafter all the slits on that wheel will be in alignment.