Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-physics-a-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2022/paper-2/section-b/b7/c/i/solution
Past exam of the physics A course of the University of Cambridge 2022 Paper 2 Section B B7 c i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-18
Take the quoted separation to mean adjacent slit centre spacing . For three equal very narrow slits at , the Fraunhofer diffraction complex amplitude in the transverse direction isWith denoting one narrow slit's contribution, the light intensity isThe quotient is interpreted by its limit where both numerator and denominator vanish. At small angles on a screen at , and . Principal interference fringes occur atBetween successive principal maxima there are two zeros, at and . Halfway between them is a smaller maximum , one ninth of a principal peak. The pattern is symmetric about . The positions quoted in millimetres use the paraxial approximation; exactly and .
Original calculated Fraunhofer diffraction patterns for three narrow slits and for three finite-width slits
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