Exam 35: Diffraction

A single slit forms a diffraction pattern, with the first minimum at an angle of 40.0° from central maximum, using monochromatic light of 490-nm wavelength. What is the width of the slit?

A thin beam of laser light of wavelength 514 nm passes through a diffraction grating having 3952 lines/cm. The resulting pattern is viewed on a distant curved screen that can show all bright fringes up to and including ±90.0° from the central spot. What is the TOTAL number of bright fringes that will show up on the screen?

Light of wavelength 633 nm from a He-Ne laser passes through a circular aperture and is observed on a screen 4.0 m behind the aperture. The diameter of the central bright area is 5.4 cm. What is the diameter of the aperture?

A light beam shines through a thin slit and illuminates a distant screen. The central bright fringe on the screen is 1.00 cm wide, as measured between the dark fringes that border it on either side. Which of the following actions would decrease the width of the central bright fringe? (There may be more than one correct choice.)

A single slit forms a diffraction pattern with monochromatic light. The 4th minimum of the pattern occurs at an angle of 35° from the central maximum. How many bright bands are on each side of the central maximum?

If the diameter of a radar dish is doubled, what happens to its resolving power assuming that all other factors remain unchanged?

A single slit, which is 0.050 mm wide, is illuminated by light of 550 nm wavelength. What is the angular separation between the first two minima on either side of the central maximum?

A metallic sheet has a large number of slits, 5.0 mm wide and 20 cm apart, and is used as a diffraction grating for microwaves. A wide parallel beam of microwaves is incident normally on the sheet. What is the smallest microwave frequency for which only the central maximum occurs? (c = 3.00 × 10⁸ m/s)

A thin beam of laser light of wavelength 514 nm passes through a diffraction grating having 3952 lines/cm. The resulting pattern is viewed on a distant curved screen that can show all bright fringes up to and including ±90.0° from the central spot. If the experiment were performed with all of the apparatus under water (which has an index of refraction of 1.33), what would be the TOTAL number of bright spots that would show up on the screen?