A laser pointer is available in the laboratory, along with a narrow single slit of known width, an optical bench, a meter stick, and a white projection screen. Your task is to design an experiment that uses the diffraction pattern produced by the slit to determine the wavelength of the laser light.
Provide a clear, ordered plan that would allow another student to reproduce the measurement and obtain a value for the wavelength, including ways to improve the result’s reliability.
(a) Describe all physical quantities that must be measured directly during the experiment and identify the instrumentation you would use for each measurement.
(b) Explain how the linear positions you record on the screen can be translated into the angles at which minima occur in the diffraction pattern.
(c) Identify two specific sources of systematic error that could affect the wavelength result and discuss practical steps to minimize each one.
(d) The manufacturer’s specification lists the slit width uncertainty as ±0.005mm. Explain qualitatively how this uncertainty influences the final uncertainty in the wavelength you report.