What is the Ratio of Slit Distance to Wavelength in Laser Diffraction?

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Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a laser diffraction problem involving two slits, where participants are tasked with finding the ratio of the slit distance to the wavelength of light and determining a specific angle related to light intensity on a screen.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Problem interpretation, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to solve for the angle using equations related to intensity and diffraction, while expressing uncertainty about their calculations. Other participants inquire about the expected units for the answer and question the reasoning behind the original poster's belief that an error has occurred.

Discussion Status

The discussion is ongoing, with participants sharing their calculations and clarifying expectations regarding units. There is a collaborative atmosphere as some participants confirm their results align with the original poster's, while others seek to understand potential discrepancies in reasoning.

Contextual Notes

Participants mention that radians are the expected unit for answers in these types of problems, which may influence their calculations and interpretations.

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Homework Statement


After a laser beam passes through two thin parallel slits, the first completely dark fringes occur at ±14.0∘ with the original direction of the beam, as viewed on a screen far from the slits.

A)What is the ratio of the distance between the slits to the wavelength of the light illuminating the slits?
d/lambda = 2.07

B)What is the smallest positive angle, relative to the original direction of the laser beam, at which the intensity of the light is 110 the maximum intensity on the screen?

Θ=


Homework Equations



I = Iocos2(ø/2)

ø = 2∏dsinθ/λ


The Attempt at a Solution



so for this I solved for phi and then substituted that into the second equation and for this sinθ is ≈θ I just solved for theta in the 2nd equation

for ø= 2cos-1(√(1/10))
ø=2.498

then ø/(2∏(d/λ)) = Θ

for Θ I got .192 but I can't figure out what I did wrong

thank you in advance
 
Physics news on Phys.org
I'm getting the same as you.
Are you expected to give your answer in degrees or radiens?
 
radians is what we were told to do for all of these problems
 
What leads you to believe that you've done anything wrong then?
 

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