4/21/2019 Homework #19 (phy 112)

Homework #19 (phy 112)

Due: 11:00pm on Friday, April 26, 2019
To understand how points are awarded, read the Grading Policy for this assignment.

± Single-Slit Diffraction

You have been asked to measure the width of a slit in a piece of paper. You mount the paper 80.0 centimeters from a screen and illuminate it from behind with
laser light of wavelength 633 nanometers (in air). You mark two of the intensity minima as shown in the figure, and measure the distance between them to be
17.9 millimeters.

Part A
What is the width a of the slit?

Express your answer in micrometers, to three significant figures.

Hint 1. The equation for single-slit diffraction

mλ
The equation for the angle θ between a line perpendicular to the screen and a line connecting the slit to the mth dark fringe is sin(θ) = a ,
where m is a nonzero integer, λ is the wavelength of the light, and a is the width of the slit. Use this equation, together with some small-angle
approximations, to solve this problem.

Hint 2. Small-angle approximations

Recall that for a small angle θ, sin(θ) ≈ tan(θ) ≈ θ. For this problem, find the value of tan(θ), in terms of the distance R to the screen and the
distance y from the central maximum to the dark fringe, and then substitute this expression for sin(θ) in the equation for location of the dark
fringes.

ANSWER:

a = 170 μm

Correct

Part B
If the entire apparatus were submerged in water, would the width of the central peak change?

Hint 1. How to approach the problem

If you are puzzled, look at each variable in your equations and ask yourself whether it would be changed by placing the whole apparatus
underwater. If you identify any of the variables as changing, think about how such a change would affect the width of the central fringe (if at all).

ANSWER:

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The width would increase.

The width would decrease.

The width would not change.

Correct

A message from your instructor...

Hint 2 provides a very nice diagram to use.

Single-Slit Diffraction Conceptual Question

An experiment is conducted in which red light is diffracted through a single slit.

Part A
Listed below are alterations made, one at a time, to the original experiment, and the experiment is repeated. After each alteration, the experiment is
returned to its original configuration.

Which of these alterations decreases the angles at which the diffraction minima appear?
Select all that apply.

Hint 1. Minima of single-slit diffraction

The angles of the interference minima in a single-slit experiment obey the relationship
mλ
sin(θ) =
W
,

where m is the order of the minima, λ is the wavelength of the light, and W is the slit width.

Hint 2. Effect of moving the screen

The linear positions of the diffraction minima will change when the location of the viewing screen is changed; however, the angles of the minima are
constant.

Hint 3. Wavelength of light in water

The wavelength of light is altered by the index of refraction of the material the light passes through. When passing through a material with index n,
the wavelength of light in the material (λn ) compared to the wavelength of light in vacuum (λ) is reduced by a factor of n:
λ
λn =
n
.

ANSWER:

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The slit width is halved.

The distance between the slits and the screen is doubled.

The distance between the slits and the screen is halved.

A green, rather than red, light source is used.

The experiment is conducted in a water-filled tank.

The slit width is doubled.

Correct

Light of Differing Wavelengths on a Diffraction Grating

Visible light passes through a diffraction grating that has 900 slits per centimeter, and the interference pattern is observed on a screen that is 2.42 m from the
grating.

Part A
In the first-order spectrum, maxima for two different wavelengths are separated on the screen by 3.34 mm . What is the difference between these
wavelengths?
Express your answer in meters.

Hint 1. How to approach the problem

To solve for the difference in wavelengths between the two beams of light, we need to consider what information we can get from the diffraction
pattern. If we had more information, we could determine the wavelength for each beam of light by using the equation that relates the distance
between slits on the diffraction grating and the angle at which the mth maximum occurs.

Since we know only the difference between the first maxima for each beam of light, we can determine only the difference between the two
wavelengths of light. This is possible with the given information because we can use the small-angle approximation sin(θ) ≈ θ, which leads to
Δ sin(θ) ≈ Δθ. Don't forget to express angles in radians when applying the small-angle approximation.

Hint 2. Equation for the intensity maxima

For a diffraction grating (see the figure) that is illuminated by a light source of wavelength λ, the angles to the maxima of intensity projected on the
screen are given by the equation

d sin(θ) = mλ ,

where d is the distance between two slits on the diffraction grating and θ is the angle between the maximum of order m and the centerline from the
grating.

Hint 3. Find the distance between two slits

Determine the distance d between two slits in the diffraction grating.

Express your answer in meters.
ANSWER:

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d = 1.11×10−5 m

Hint 4. Finding the difference between wavelengths

Since d sin(θ1 ) = λ1 and d sin(θ2 ) = λ2 (recall that m = 1 for both maxima), subtraction shows that d(Δ sin(θ)) . Use the small-angle
= Δλ

approximation to simplify this expression.

Hint 5. Find the angle between the maxima

Find the angle between the two first-order maxima projected by these two wavelengths of light.
Express your answer in radians.

Hint 1. Small-angle approximation

Use the fact that the distance between the diffraction grating and the screen is of order meters whereas the difference between the two first-
order maxima is of order millimeters to justify use of the approximation tan(θ) ≈ sin(θ) ≈ θ. Then, Δ tan(θ) ≈ Δ sin(θ) ≈ Δθ.

ANSWER:

Δθ = 1.38×10−3

ANSWER:

1.53×10−8 m

Correct

Diffraction and Interference Ranking Task

A monochromatic beam of light is sent through each of the following six optical slides.

Part A
Rank these scenarios on the basis of the angle of the first interference maximum.

Rank from largest to smallest. To rank items as equivalent, overlap them.

Hint 1. Double-slit interference

The angles of the interference maxima in a double-slit experiment obey the relationship
mλ
sin(θ) = ,
d

where d is the slit separation and m is the order of the maxima. The first interference maximum occurs when m = 1 .

Hint 2. Diffraction gratings

A diffraction grating is an optical slide with a very large number of slits that allow light to pass. Typically, a grating is referenced by the number of
lines, or slits, per centimeter. The inverse of this number is the separation between each pair of slits. By defining the separation between slits as d,
the angles of the interference maxima resulting from a diffraction grating follow the same relationship as that for a double-slit slide:
mλ
sin(θ) =
d
.

The first interference maximum occurs when m = 1 .

Hint 3. Single-slit interference

The angles of the interference minima in a single-slit experiment obey the relationship

sin(θ) =
mλ
,
W

where W is the slit width and m is the order of the minima.

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4/21/2019 Homework #19 (phy 112)
The interference maxima resulting from a single-slit experiment are approximately evenly spaced between the interference minima. Recall that the
first interference minimum is m = 1, so the first interference maximum is located between the m = 1 and m = 2 minima.

ANSWER:

Reset Help

largest smallest

double-slit slide with spacing 0.02 mm

single-slit slide with width 0.01 mm diffraction grating with 1000 lines/cm single-slit slide with width 0.04 mm double-slit slide with spacing 0.08 mm

diffraction grating with 500 lines/cm

The correct ranking cannot be determined.

Correct

± Resolving Distant Objects

Consider a telescope with a small circular aperture of diameter 2.0 centimeters.

Part A
If two point sources of light are being imaged by this telescope, what is the maximum wavelength λ at which the two can be resolved if their angular
separation is 3.0 × 10 −5 radians?

Express your answer in nanometers to two significant figures.

Hint 1. How to approach the problem

You are given the angular separation between two point sources and the diameter of the circular aperture that they travel through. You want to know
at what wavelength you will just satisfy the Rayleigh criterion. You already know the angular separation of the two centers of the diffraction patterns
(i.e., the angle between the two sources). Therefore, you can put that angle and the known diameter into the equation for Rayleigh's criterion and
then solve for λ.

Hint 2. Rayleigh's criterion

Recall that Rayleigh's criterion for resolvability says that two point sources are just resolved when the center of one's diffraction pattern coincides
with the first minimum of the other's diffraction pattern.

The angle θ1 to the first minimum from the center of a diffraction pattern made by a circular aperture of diameter D is given by the equation

λ
sin(θ1 ) = 1.22 ,
D

where λ is the wavelength of the light used to make the pattern.

ANSWER:

λ = 490 nm

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4/21/2019 Homework #19 (phy 112)

Correct

Part B
Calculate the angular separation θ1 at which two point sources of wavelength 600 nanometers are just resolved when viewed through a circular aperture of
diameter 1.5 centimeters.
Express your answer in radians to three significant figures.
ANSWER:

θ1 = 4.880×10−5 rad

Correct
Rayleigh's criterion is not a hard cutoff between resolvable and unresolvable. However, having a standard to decide whether a measurement is
valid is quite important. Rayleigh's criterion serves this purpose by giving a lower bound for validity below which measurements from two different
point sources are not generally considered reliable.

± Resolving Power of the Eye

If you can read the bottom row of your doctor's eye chart, your eye has a resolving power of one arcminute, equal to 1.67×10−2 degrees .

Part A
If this resolving power is diffraction-limited, to what effective diameter of your eye's optical system does this correspond? Use Rayleigh's criterion and
assume that the wavelength of the light is 530 nm .
Express your answer in millimeters to three significant figures.

Hint 1. Definition of Rayleigh's criterion

Recall that Rayleigh's criterion for resolving objects is that two objects are just distinguishable from each other if the center of one object's diffraction
pattern lies on the first minimum of the other object's diffraction pattern.

Hint 2. Diffraction equation for a circular aperature

The diffraction equation for a circular aperature is

λ
sin(θd ) = 1.22 ,
D

where λ is the wavelength of light used, D is the diameter of the circular aperture, and θd is the angle at which the first minimum lies (relative to a
centerline from the aperature). The factor 1.22 comes from the fact that we are using a circular aperture for the diffraction pattern instead of an
infinite slit.

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4/21/2019 Homework #19 (phy 112)

ANSWER:

2.22 mm

Correct

A message from your instructor...

You will get more out of this problem by reading the hints.

The Eye and Diffraction Conceptual Question

Light from a distant star is focused by the lens onto the retina . With a pupil diameter of 3.0 mm, the
intensity of light falling on the retina is illustrated by the graph below . The spot illuminated on the
retina is about 8 μm in diameter.

When star gazing on a very dark evening, the pupil diameter will expand to much larger than 3.0 mm.

Part A
With an expanded pupil diameter, what will happen to the total amount of light energy reaching the retina?

Hint 1. Light-gathering ability

The pupil controls the light-gathering ability of the eye. In intense light, the pupil will contract to limit the amount of light entering the eye. In dim light,
the pupil will expand to maximize the light entering the eye.

ANSWER:

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increase.
It will decrease.

stay the same.

Correct

Part B
With an expanded pupil diameter, what will happen to the spread of the image on the retina?

Hint 1. The pupil and diffraction

Light passing through the pupil is diffracted in a manner similar to that of light passing through a single slit. In general, as the slit size (pupil size) is
decreased, the diffraction pattern spreads, and as the slit size (pupil size) is increased, the diffraction pattern becomes more focused.

ANSWER:

increase.
It will decrease.

stay the same.

Correct

Part C
With a decreased spread in image size, what will happen to the intensity of the central maxima?

Hint 1. Intensity of central maximum

The intensity I of the central maximum depends on both the total amount of energy E reaching the retina and the area A over which this energy is
distributed:

E
I ∝ .
A

ANSWER:

increase.
It will decrease.

stay the same.

Correct
An expanded pupil will allow more light to reach the retina, and, by diffraction, it will allow this light to be focused onto a smaller area, increasing
one's ability to detect extremely faint objects.

Problem 26.24

A beam of laser light of wavelength 632.8 nm falls on a thin slit 3.40×10−3 mm wide.

Part A
After the light passes through the slit, at what angles relative to the original direction of the beam is it completely cancelled when viewed far from the slit?

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Type absolute values of the three least angles separating them with commas.

ANSWER:

, ,
|θ1 | |θ2 | |θ3 | = 10.7,21.9,33.9 ∘

Correct

Problem 26.26

Parallel light rays with a wavelength of 580 nm fall on a single slit. On a screen 3.50 m away, the distance between the first dark fringes on either side of the
central maximum is 4.80 mm .

Part A
What is the width of the slit?
ANSWER:

a = 0.846 mm

Correct

A message from your instructor...

The last question deals with telescope construction. You will be asked to compute the size of a mirror to make a certain observation. To put the number you get
in context plans are under way to build a 30-m diameter telescope (The Thirty Meter Telescope if you want to use Google for more information). The largest
telescopes are currently 8 to 10 meters in diameter. Hint: drawing a triangle with the base on the distant planet and the apex at the Earth will help determine the
resolution (an angle) needed to see the object.

Problem 26.56: Searching for planets around other stars.

Part A
If an optical telescope focusing light of wavelength 543 nm had a perfectly ground mirror, what would have to be the minimum diameter of its mirror so that
it could resolve a Jupiter-size planet (the diameter of Jupiter is 1.38×108 m) around our nearest star, Alpha Centauri, which is about 4.30 light years from
earth? (1 light year = 9.46×1015 m )
ANSWER:

D = 195 m

Correct

Score Summary:
Your score on this assignment is 99.1%.
You received 31.7 out of a possible total of 32 points.

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