Question

A monochromatic light of unknown wavelength is incident on a slit of width 20μm. A diffraction pattern is seen at a screen 2.5 m away where the central maximum is spread over a distance of 10.0 cm. Find the wavelength.

Answer 1

To find the wavelength, we can use the formula for the intensity distribution in a single slit diffraction pattern and plug in the given values. The wavelength is found to be 0 meters.

Step-by-step explanation:

In order to find the wavelength, we can use the formula for the intensity distribution in a single slit diffraction pattern: sin(θ) = mλ / w, where θ is the angle of the m-th order maximum, λ is the wavelength, w is the slit width, and m is the order of the maximum.

In this case, we are given that the central maximum is spread over a distance of 10.0 cm, which corresponds to a half-angle of 5.0 cm / 2.5 m = 0.02 radians. The width of the slit is 20 μm, or 20 x 10^-6 m. Plugging these values into the formula, we can solve for the wavelength: 0.02 = (0 x λ) / (20 x 10^-6), which simplifies to λ = 0 meters.

To find the wavelength, we can use the formula for the intensity distribution in a single slit diffraction pattern and plug in the given values. The wavelength is found to be 0 meters.