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\"Jack and Jill are sitting under an old wooden bridge one nightwhile a street l

ID: 1752325 • Letter: #

Question

"Jack and Jill are sitting under an old wooden bridge one nightwhile a street lamp with a wavelength of 610 nm shines through twosmall cracks in a board. They notice fringes of light on the ground4.9 mm apart. If the board is 2.35 meters above the ground, what isthe distance (in mm) between the cracks?"
I cant figure out which formula to useso I cant even approach the question. Just looking for theappropriate formula.
I cant figure out which formula to useso I cant even approach the question. Just looking for theappropriate formula.

Explanation / Answer

This is an application of the 2 slit interference formula. ym = location of the mth fringe on the screen= mR/d where m=0 is the central fringe, R = distance of screen from slits,d = slit separation, and we assume small angles (i.e., R >>d). fringe separation = y1 - y0 = R/d =(2.35)(610 x 10 -9)/d = .0049 from this you can find the slit separation d. hope this helps!