a) Two stars are photographed utilizing a telescope with a circular aperture of

Question

a) Two stars are photographed utilizing a telescope with a circular aperture of diameter of 2.46 m and light with a wavelength of 534 nm. If both stars are 1022 m from us, what is their minimum separation so that we can recognize them as two stars (instead of just one)? d=_m

b) A car passes you on the highway and you notice the taillights of the car are 1.26 m apart. Assume that the pupils of your eyes have a diameter of 7.3 mm and index of refraction of 1.36. Given that the car is 14.3 km away when the taillights appear to merge into a single spot of light because of the effects of diffraction, what wavelength of light does the car emit from its taillights (what would the wavelength be in vacuum)?

= __nm

Explanation / Answer

part a )

x/L = 1.33 *lambda/d

L = 1022m

d = 2.46 m

x = 2.95 x 10^-4 m

part b )

x/L = 1.33*lambda/d

lambda = x*d/1.33*L

lambda = 1.26 * 7.33 x 10^-3/1.33 * 14.3 x 10^3

lambda = 485.6 x 10^-9 m = 485.6 nm

this is in air lambda' = lambda/n

lambda' = 357.06 nm

Related Questions

Navigate

• Browse (All)
• Browse A
• Subjects

Integrity-first tutoring: explanations and feedback only — we do not complete graded work. Learn more.