Manufacturers of wire (and other objects of small dimensions) sometimes use a la

Question

Manufacturers of wire (and other objects of small dimensions) sometimes use a laser to continually monitor the thickness of the product. The wire intercepts the laser beam, producing a diffraction pattern like that of a single slit of the same width as the wire diameter (see Fig. 37-50). Suppose a laser, of wavelength 647.3 nm, illuminates a wire, and the diffraction pattern appears on a screen 2.66 m away. If the desired wire diameter is 1.33 mm, what is the observed distance between the two tenth-order minima (one on each side of the central maximum)?

( )mm

Explanation / Answer

y = m lambda L / d

The position of the tenth minimia = 10 lambda L/d

Distance between them = 20 lambda L / d

= 20 * 647.3E-9 * 2.66 / 1.33E-3

= 2.58cm

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