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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