If the slit width is halved in a single-slit diffraction experiment, what happens to the width of the central maximum?
Practice Questions
1 question
Q1
If the slit width is halved in a single-slit diffraction experiment, what happens to the width of the central maximum?
It doubles
It halves
It remains the same
It quadruples
If the slit width is halved, the width of the central maximum doubles, as it is inversely proportional to the slit width.
Questions & Step-by-step Solutions
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Q
Q: If the slit width is halved in a single-slit diffraction experiment, what happens to the width of the central maximum?
Solution: If the slit width is halved, the width of the central maximum doubles, as it is inversely proportional to the slit width.
Steps: 5
Step 1: Understand that in a single-slit diffraction experiment, light passes through a narrow slit and creates a pattern of light and dark bands on a screen.
Step 2: The central maximum is the brightest and widest part of this pattern, located in the middle.
Step 3: The width of the central maximum is related to the width of the slit. Specifically, it is inversely proportional to the slit width.
Step 4: This means that if you make the slit narrower (like halving the width), the central maximum becomes wider.
Step 5: Therefore, if the slit width is halved, the width of the central maximum doubles.
