Exam 38: Diffraction Patterns and Polarization

A slit of variable width illuminated by light of wavelength λ is widened until the first order diffraction minimum moves out to a distance infinitely far away from the brightest location in the central maximum. In terms of the wavelength, the width of the slit is then

A beam of X-rays of different frequencies is reflected at 10 degrees off a crystal of interatomic spacing 0.2 nm. Which X-ray wavelength is preferentially reflected?

Jane's flashy boy friend has just given her a ring with a huge "diamond". Jane, who has studied physics, measures the polarizing angle for the stone and finds that the polarizing angle is 62.97°. The stone is

Each pattern shown below would appear on a screen when monochromatic light first passes through a narrow slit of width a and then strikes a screen. The darkest areas on the page represent the brightest areas on the screen. In which case is the slit illuminated with light of the shortest wavelength?

You could determine the index of refraction for visible light of a dark but reflective medium such as black glass by measuring the

How far above the horizon is the moon when its image, reflected in a calm lake, is completely polarized? (n_water = 1.33.)

Light strikes a flat water surface (n = 1.333) at the Brewster angle. Calculate the angle between the reflected and the refracted ray.

A helium-neon laser (λ = 632.8 nm) is used to calibrate a diffraction grating. If the first-order maximum occurs at 20.5°, what is the line spacing, d?

A radar installation operates at 9000 MHz with an antenna (dish) that is 15 meters across. Determine the maximum distance (in kilometers) for which this system can distinguish two aircraft 100 meters apart.

Scattered light in the atmosphere is often partially polarized. The best way to determine whether or not light from a particular direction in the sky shows polarization is to

Plane waves of ultrasound, f = 51.0 kHz, impinge on a flat plane with a 1.00 cm-wide slit. What is the total angular width (2θ) of diffracted sound waves when the speed of sound in air is 340 m/sec.

Potassium Iodide (chemical formula: KI) has a face-centered cubic structure (just like sodium chloride). If the distance between crystal planes is d = 0.353 nm and X-rays of wavelength λ = 0.0934 nm are used, what is the smallest angle θ at which a diffraction maximum may be obtained?

At what distance could one theoretically distinguish two automobile headlights separated by 1.5 meters? Assume a pupil diameter of 0.50 cm and yellow headlights seen at the wavelength 5.0 × 10−⁷ m. Assume eye fluid has an average n = 1.33.

In an X-ray diffraction experiment using X-rays of λ = 0.500 × 10−¹⁰ m, a first-order maximum occurred at 5.00°. Find the crystal plane spacing.

The polarizing angle in air for diamond is 67.4°. Calculate the critical angle inside the diamond for total internal reflection.

The pupil of a cat's eye narrows to a slit width of 0.5 mm in daylight. What is the angular resolution of the cat's eye in daylight (λ = 500 nm)?

Light from a helium-neon laser (λ = 632.8 nm) is incident upon a 0.200-mm wide slit. Find the total width of the central maximum 2.00 m from the slit.

When you look at a single slit diffraction pattern produced on a screen by light of a single wavelength, you see a bright central maximum and a number of maxima on either side, their intensity decreasing with distance from the central maximum. If the width of the slit is increased,

What, approximately, are the dimensions of the smallest object on Earth that the astronauts can resolve by eye at 200 km height from the space shuttle? Assume λ = 500 nm light and a pupil diameter D = 0.50 cm. Assume eye fluid has an average n = 1.33.

White light is spread out into spectral hues by a diffraction grating. If the grating has 1000 lines per cm, at what angle will red light (λ = 640 nm) appear in first order?