Exam 38: Diffraction Patterns and Polarization

Unpolarized light is passed through three successive Polaroid filters, each with its transmission axis at 45.0° to the preceding filter. What percentage of light gets through?

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 decreased,

The large space telescope that has been placed into an Earth orbit has an aperture diameter of 2.40 meters. What angular resolution will this telescope achieve for visible light of wavelength λ = 4.80 × 10−⁷ m?

How wide must a narrow slit be if the first diffraction minimum occurs at ±12° with laser light of 633 nm?

The centers of two slits of width a are a distance d apart. If the fourth minimum of the interference pattern occurs at the location of the first minimum of the diffraction pattern for light of wavelength λ, the ratio a/d is equal to

Helium-neon laser light (λ = 6.33 × 10−⁷ m) is sent through a 0.30 mm-wide single slit. What is the width of the central maximum on a screen 1.0 m from the slit?

Each pattern shown below would appear on a screen when monochromatic light of wavelength λ 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 does the slit have the greatest width?