Irina finds an unlabeled box of fine needles and wants to determine how thick they are. A standard ruler will not do the job, as each needle is less than a millimeter thick. So, to determine the thickness, she uses a needle to poke a hole in a piece of paper. Then, she positions a 670 nm laser pointer to shine through the hole and project a circular diffraction pattern on a wall 21.2 m away. She then uses her ruler to measure that the central bright circle is 19.7 cm in diameter. What diameter does Irina calculate for the needle?
Irina finds an unlabeled box of fine needles and wants to determine how thick they are. A standard ruler will not do the job, as each needle is less than a millimeter thick. So, to determine the thickness, she uses a needle to poke a hole in a piece of paper. Then, she positions a 670 nm laser pointer to shine through the hole and project a circular diffraction pattern on a wall 21.2 m away. She then uses her ruler to measure that the central bright circle is 19.7 cm in diameter. What diameter does Irina calculate for the needle?
Principles of Physics: A Calculus-Based Text
5th Edition
ISBN:9781133104261
Author:Raymond A. Serway, John W. Jewett
Publisher:Raymond A. Serway, John W. Jewett
Chapter27: Wave Optics
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 69P
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Irina finds an unlabeled box of fine needles and wants to determine how thick they are. A standard ruler will not do the job, as each needle is less than a millimeter thick. So, to determine the thickness, she uses a needle to poke a hole in a piece of paper. Then, she positions a 670 nm laser pointer to shine through the hole and project a circular diffraction pattern on a wall 21.2 m away. She then uses her ruler to measure that the central bright circle is 19.7 cm in diameter. What diameter does Irina calculate for the needle?
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