Amplitude and Young double slit experiment

  • #1
MBBphys
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Homework Statement


For a question in a worksheet (the actual question is irrelevant), my physics teacher said, in the context of the Young double slit experiment with light, if you make one of the slits smaller, then the amplitude of light from that source will also decrease.
Is that true?

Homework Equations


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The Attempt at a Solution


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  • #2
How did your teacher define light amplitude?
As far as I know, the amplitude of light is most often associated with the intensity. If the two slits is illuminated by a plane wave, the intensity and hence the amplitude across the slit opening is uniform. Reducing the slit size will obviously not affect the intensity, instead, it's the power (energy/time) which is decreasing.
 

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