In a diffraction pattern, what does the term 'order of diffraction' refer to?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In a diffraction pattern, what does the term 'order of diffraction' refer to?
The number of slits used
The number of maxima observed
The wavelength of light used
The distance to the screen
The order of diffraction refers to the number of maxima observed in the diffraction pattern, with the central maximum being the zeroth order.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: In a diffraction pattern, what does the term 'order of diffraction' refer to?
Solution: The order of diffraction refers to the number of maxima observed in the diffraction pattern, with the central maximum being the zeroth order.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand that a diffraction pattern is created when waves, like light, pass through a small opening or around an obstacle.
Step 2: In this pattern, you will see bright and dark spots called maxima and minima.
Step 3: The central bright spot in the pattern is called the zeroth order maximum.
Step 4: The bright spots on either side of the central maximum are called first order maxima, second order maxima, and so on.
Step 5: The order of diffraction is simply the number that indicates how far a maximum is from the central maximum, starting from zero.
