Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2011/paper-1/section-b/b8/a-slit-width/solution

With the order positions are unchanged from the grating equation, and the envelope's first zeros satisfy . Equivalently the first missing integer orders are . The third-order peaks remain appreciable. The displayed order-coordinate places all principal maxima at integers.
Figure 1.
Slit-width envelopes on a common incident-intensity scale
. Original finite-array model with an illustrative 60 illuminated slits to make the peaks visible. Dashed lines show single-slit envelopes; the supplied slit pitch and widths set the peak ratios independently of this illustrative slit count. Details.

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