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Chapter 33: Q. 6 (page 955)

It shows the light intensity on a viewing screen behind a circular aperture. What happens to the width of the central maximum if the

a. The wavelength of the light is increased.

b. The diameter of the aperture is increased.

c. How will the screen appear if the aperture diameter is less than the light wavelength?

Short Answer

Expert verified

The central maximum breadth is

(a) The width gets larger.

b) The width reduces.

(c) Gray, almost continuously, with no minima.

Step by step solution

01

Light through an aperture

Waves spread out when they pass between apertures or around objects, which is known as diffraction. This occurs when the aperture or object has the same actual size as the incident wave's wavelength.

02

The light's wavelength and also the aperture's diameter

Hence, θ1=1.22λDwe know.

The width increases as the height is increased.

The width decreases as the diameter is increased.

03

Aperture diameter

For diffraction to take place, the aperture size must be of the same order as the wavelength of light, hence almost uniformly gray with no minima.

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Most popular questions from this chapter

A double-slit experiment is set up using a helium-neon laser (λ=633nm). Then a very thin piece of glass (n=1.50) is placed over one of the slits. Afterward, the central point on the screen is occupied by what had been the m=10 dark fringe. How thick is the glass?

A triple-slit experiment consists of three narrow slits, equally spaced by distance dand illuminated by light of wavelength λ. Each slit alone produces intensity I1on the viewing screen at distanceL.
aConsider a point on the distant viewing screen such that the path-length difference between any two adjacent slits isλ. What is the intensity at this point?
bWhat is the intensity at a point where the path-length difference between any two adjacent slits isλ2?

Infrared light of wavelength 2.5μmilluminates a 0.20-mmdiameter hole. What is the angle of the first dark fringe in radians? In degrees?

Your artist friend is designing an exhibit inspired by circular-aperture diffraction. A pinhole in a red zone is going to be illuminated with a red laser beam of wavelength 670nm, while a pinhole in a violet zone is going to be illuminated with a violet laser beam of wavelength 410nm. She wants all the diffraction patterns seen on a distant screen to have the same size. For this to work, what must be the ratio of the red pinhole’s diameter to that of the violet pinhole?

Light from a helium-neon laser (λ=633nm)illuminates a circular aperture. It is noted that the diameter of the central maximum on a screen 50cmbehind the aperture matches the diameter of the geometric image. What is the aperture's diameter (in mm)?
See all solutions

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