Young's double slit-halving amplitude?

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SUMMARY

In the context of the Young double slit experiment, halving the width of one slit will not result in a direct halving of the amplitude of light exiting that slit. Instead, the intensity of light is directly proportional to the width of the slit, and since intensity is proportional to the square of the amplitude, the amplitude will change according to the square root of the width ratio. Therefore, if one slit is halved, the amplitude exiting that slit will be reduced, but not by half; it will be reduced by the square root of the width ratio.

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  • Understanding of wave optics principles
  • Familiarity with the Young double slit experiment
  • Knowledge of the relationship between intensity and amplitude
  • Basic grasp of light wave properties, including wavelength
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  • Explore the implications of slit width on diffraction patterns
  • Investigate the effects of varying slit dimensions on interference patterns
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Physics students, educators, and anyone interested in wave optics and the principles of interference in light. This discussion is particularly beneficial for those studying or teaching the Young double slit experiment.

MBBphys
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Homework Statement


Hi,
For the Young double slit experiment, say I have a plane wavefront approaching the double slit; now, if I halve the width of one of my slits, will the amplitude of the light exiting that slit be halved as well?

Homework Equations


None directly relevant I know of, but related:
Intensity directly proportional to [amplitude]2
nλ=dsinθ
λ=(ax)/D

The Attempt at a Solution


So I thought that, as the slit width is really very close to the wavelength of light itself, that halving would have a noticeable impact on the amplitude? But I also wondered whether making it much smaller than the wavelength of light as a result would completely block out the light anyway??
Thanks for your help!
 
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MBBphys said:
will the amplitude of the light exiting that slit be halved as well?

The intensity of the light coming through the slits is directly proportional to the width of the slit
And intensity is proportional to the square of amplitude. So amplitude2 is proportional to width
 

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