Question

# Two very narrow slits are cut close to each other in a large piece of cardboard. They are illuminated by monochromatic red light. A sheet of white paper is placed far from the slits, and a pattern of bright and dark bands is seen on the paper. Describe how a wave behaves when it encounters a slit, and explain why some regions are bright while others are dark.

Solution

Verified

When monochromatic red light encounters a slit, it diffracts and the wave bends. This happens on each slit, so two waves bend and interfere with each other.

The bright band appears in the places where two waves interfere constructively and the dark band where two waves interfere destructively.

## Recommended textbook solutions

#### Physics: Principles and Problems

9th EditionISBN: 9780078458132Elliott, Haase, Harper, Herzog, Margaret Zorn, Nelson, Schuler, Zitzewitz
3,068 solutions

#### Physics for Scientists and Engineers: A Strategic Approach with Modern Physics

4th EditionISBN: 9780133942651 (5 more)Randall D. Knight
3,508 solutions

#### Mathematical Methods in the Physical Sciences

3rd EditionISBN: 9780471198260Mary L. Boas
3,355 solutions

#### Fundamentals of Physics

10th EditionISBN: 9781118230718David Halliday, Jearl Walker, Robert Resnick
8,950 solutions