Is there a problem with this set of plots?

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SUMMARY

The forum discussion centers on the graphical representation of light's orbital angular momentum as presented in a May 2004 Physics Today article. The user observes that while the "hole" in the beam in the second column increases in size with larger l values, the "hole" in the third column appears to remain constant. However, upon measurement, it is noted that the holes in the third column do indeed increase in size, contradicting the initial observation. This highlights the importance of careful measurement and analysis in interpreting physical phenomena.

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Spinnor
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Consider a graphic from May 2004 Physics Today article, Light's orbital angular momentum.

upload_2017-5-7_13-41-3.png


Note that for larger l, the "hole" in the beam in the 2nd column gets bigger but the "hole" in the 3rd column basically stays the same size. I would think that both "holes" should grow with increasing l?

Thanks!
 
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If you measure the holes in the 3rd column they do seem to get bigger.
 

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