Question
A parallel beam of light of wavelength 500 nm falls on a narrow slit and the resulting diffraction pattern is observed on a screen 1 m away. It is observed that the first minimum is at a distance of 2.5 mm from the centre of the screen. Find the width of the slit.
Solution
Given,
Distance of the screen from the slit,
Distance of the first minimum when the centre of screen,
n=1 is the first minimum.
Using formula,
we have,
is the required width of the slit.