In a double-slit experiment, if the distance to the screen is increased, what happens to the fringe pattern?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
In a double-slit experiment, if the distance to the screen is increased, what happens to the fringe pattern?
Fringe width decreases
Fringe width increases
Fringe pattern disappears
Fringe pattern becomes sharper
Increasing the distance to the screen increases the fringe width, as fringe width is proportional to the distance from the slits.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: In a double-slit experiment, if the distance to the screen is increased, what happens to the fringe pattern?
Solution: Increasing the distance to the screen increases the fringe width, as fringe width is proportional to the distance from the slits.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand what a double-slit experiment is. It involves shining light through two narrow slits to create a pattern of light and dark stripes (fringes) on a screen.
Step 2: Know that the distance from the slits to the screen is important. This distance affects how the light waves spread out.
Step 3: Realize that when you increase the distance to the screen, the light waves have more space to spread out.
Step 4: Understand that as the light waves spread out more, the distance between the bright and dark stripes (fringe width) also increases.
Step 5: Conclude that increasing the distance to the screen results in wider fringes in the pattern.