Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2010/paper-1/section-a/3/b/solution
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2010 Paper 1 Section A 3 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-20
At1000nm the first-zero radius is , slightly larger than the separation. The images therefore overlap strongly and just fail the conventional Rayleigh criterion, rather than forming two clean isolated peaks.
The summed Airy profile can still have a shallow central dip and two local maxima: Rayleigh's criterion is a resolution convention, not the exact condition for a profile to become single-peaked. The two-panel original plot in part(a) shows the correct intensity sums at both wavelengths. [ref]
University Physics Volume 3 by Samuel J. Ling and others. §4.5, resolution criterion for equal point sources
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