Question

A double-slit experiment yields an interference pattern due to the path length difference from light traveling through one slit versus the other. Why does a single slit show a diffraction pattern?

A. The single slit must have something in the middle of it, causing it to act like a double slit.
B. There is a path length difference from waves originating at different parts of the slit.
C. The wavelength of the light is shorter than the slit.
D. The light passing through the slit interferes with light that does not pass through.

Answer 1

Therefore the correct statement is B.

Step-by-step explanation:

In the interference and diffraction phenomena, the natural wave of electromagnetic radiation must be taken into account, the wave front that advances towards the slit can be considered as when it reaches it behaves like a series of wave emitters, each slightly out of phase from the previous one, following the Huygens principle that states that each point is compiled as a source of secondary waves.

The sum of all these waves results in the diffraction curve of the slit that has the shape

I = Io sin² θ /θ²

Where the angle is a function of the wavelength and the width of the slit.

From the above, the interference phenomenon can be treated as the sum of two diffraction phenomena displaced a distance equal to the separation of the slits (d)

Therefore the correct statement is B