Question
- Now set the slit width to 1600 nm . How does the screen intensity change?
Ask by Lane Fernandez. in the United States
Jan 22,2025
Upstudy AI Solution
Tutor-Verified Answer
Answer
When the slit width is set to 1600 nm, the screen becomes brighter and the diffraction pattern narrows, resulting in sharper and more intense central and side fringes.
Solution
When the slit width is set to 1600 nm, several changes occur in the screen intensity and the resulting diffraction pattern:
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Increased Overall Intensity:
- More Light Through the Slit: A wider slit allows more photons to pass through compared to a narrower slit. This directly results in a brighter intensity on the screen.
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Narrower Diffraction Pattern:
- Reduced Spread of Light: According to the principles of diffraction, the width of the central maximum is inversely related to the slit width. By increasing the slit width to 1600 nm, the central bright fringe becomes narrower.
- Sharper Peaks: The side fringes (if present, such as in a double-slit setup) become more defined and less spread out, enhancing their brightness relative to the background.
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Higher Peak Intensities:
- Concentration of Light: With the diffraction pattern being narrower, the same amount of light is concentrated into a smaller area, resulting in higher peak intensities for the central and subsequent fringes.
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Potential Changes in Interference Patterns (if applicable):
- Fringe Visibility: In setups involving multiple slits (like double-slit experiments), a wider slit can improve the visibility of interference fringes by providing more coherent light paths.
- Spacing Between Fringes: The spacing between interference fringes may decrease, leading to a more tightly packed pattern.
Summary:
Setting the slit width to 1600 nm leads to an increase in screen intensity due to more light passing through the wider slit. Additionally, the diffraction pattern becomes narrower and more intense, with sharper and brighter central and side fringes. This results in a more pronounced and brighter interference pattern on the screen.
Setting the slit width to 1600 nm leads to an increase in screen intensity due to more light passing through the wider slit. Additionally, the diffraction pattern becomes narrower and more intense, with sharper and brighter central and side fringes. This results in a more pronounced and brighter interference pattern on the screen.
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Simplify this solution Beyond the Answer
When you set the slit width to 1600 nm, you’re altering the conditions under which light passes through and creates an interference pattern. A wider slit typically results in a broader diffraction pattern with lower peak intensity on the screen, leading to a more washed-out appearance of the fringes. This happens because the light waves have more room to spread out, causing less constructive interference at specific angles.
In real-world applications, adjusting slit widths is crucial in optical instruments like spectrometers. By varying the slit width, you can enhance or diminish the resolution and intensity of the light collected, allowing for more accurate measurements in fields such as chemical analysis, astronomy, and material science. This tuning of the slit width helps in balancing resolution against sensitivity as per the experimental requirements.
