How Do You Calculate Interference Fringes in a Double Slit Experiment?

Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
1 reply · 5K views
roam
Messages
1,265
Reaction score
12

Homework Statement



A laser beam ( λ = 694 nm) is incident on two slits 0.100 mm apart. Approximately how far apart (in m) will the bright interference fringes be on the screen 5.00 m from the double slits?

Homework Equations



[tex]y=L\left( \frac{m \lambda}{d} \right)[/tex]

The Attempt at a Solution



[tex]y_{m+1}-y_m = L \left(\frac{(m+1)\lambda}{d} \right) - L \left( \frac{m \lambda}{d}\right)[/tex]

[tex]= L\frac{\lambda}{d}= 5 \left( \frac{694}{1 \times 10^{-4} m} \right)[/tex]

=34700000

So I got the distance between adjacent fringes to be 34700000 which is a very huge number. But the right answer must be 3.47 × 10–2. Any help is appreciated.
 
Physics news on Phys.org