Recent content by littlepapa87

We are using an incoming laser at 532nm so the shifts are actually quite small. The slit is only being used to define our probe volume to eliminate unwanted light. Also I know that the Gaussian is only being used as an approximate function for the "smearing" across wavelengths that is being...

A text I am reading noted that as a multichromatic light source (consisting of many individual peaks) is passed through the my slit (order .25mm) the peaks will be spread over the neighboring wavelengths in a roughly Gaussian distribution. I am trying to understand why this is, and how I would...

in E = E_0exp i(k dot r - wt) or E = cos(k dot r - wt) what does k dot r physically represent? Can r be any position in space or must it lie on the wave? (I physically understand what a dot product is)