A beam of light passes through a narrow slit and produces a diffraction pattern.
Practice Questions
Q1
A beam of light passes through a narrow slit and produces a diffraction pattern. What happens to the width of the central maximum if the slit width is decreased? (2019)
It increases
It decreases
It remains the same
It becomes zero
Questions & Step-by-Step Solutions
A beam of light passes through a narrow slit and produces a diffraction pattern. What happens to the width of the central maximum if the slit width is decreased? (2019)
Step 1: Understand what a diffraction pattern is. It is the pattern created when light passes through a narrow opening (slit).
Step 2: Know that the central maximum is the brightest part in the middle of the diffraction pattern.
Step 3: Recognize that the width of the slit affects how light spreads out after passing through it.
Step 4: Learn that when the slit width decreases (becomes narrower), the light spreads out more.
Step 5: Conclude that as the light spreads out more, the width of the central maximum increases.
Diffraction of Light – The phenomenon where light waves spread out after passing through a narrow opening, leading to the formation of a pattern of light and dark regions.
Slit Width and Diffraction Pattern – The relationship between the width of the slit and the resulting diffraction pattern, where a narrower slit results in a wider central maximum.
