OBJ:

To investigate the diffraction patterns produced by monochromatic laser light

DIFFRACTION

When coherent light of monochromatic wavelength is incident upon a slit, the light
diverges as it passes through the slit in a process known as diffraction

Diffraction of light occurs when a light wave passes by a corner or through an opening or slit that is
physically the approximate size of, or even smaller than that light's wavelength.

Diffraction of Light Through Single Slit:

A laser produces
coherent light, which means all the light striking the slit is in phase. If the light then falls
on a screen placed at a large distance from the slit, it produces a pattern of alternating
bright and dark images of the slit.

• Minima. The minima (locations of zero light intensity) occur at the angle θ given
by α = a sin θ/λ = }1,}2,}3,}4 . . . and are called first, second, third, fourth,
. . . minima, respectively

One of the characteristics of single slit diffraction is that a narrower slit will give a
wider diffraction pattern as illustrated below, which seems somewhat counter-
intuitive. One way to visualize it is to consider that rays 3 and 4 must reach one half
wavelength difference in light pathlength, and if the slit is narrower, it will take a
greater angle of the rays to achieve that difference.
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