A student shines monochromatic light of wavelength 640 nm through a single slit that…

PHYSICS · Multi-part · A Level · Physics · Waves · Waves

Problem

A student shines monochromatic light of wavelength 640 nm through a single slit that is 0.080 mm wide. The student wishes to locate the second dark band (the second diffraction minimum) on a distant screen. (1) Calculate the angular position, in degrees, of the second minimum. (2) Using the small-angle approximation sin⁡θ≈θ\sin\theta \approx \theta (in radians), estimate the same angle and determine the percent error introduced by this approximation.

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