Wave Optics

JEE Main level, numerical answer, medium

137 of 191

Question 137 of 191

Sodium light of wavelengths 650nm650nm and 655nm655nm is used to study diffraction at a single slit of aperture 0.5mm0.5mm. The distance between the slit and the screen is 2.0m2.0m. The separation between the positions of the first maxima of diffraction pattern obtained in the two cases is _____ ×10−5m\times {10}^{-5}m

Show answer and solution

Answer: 3

The condition for maxima in diffraction is,
bsin⁡θ=(2n+1)λ2b\sin \theta =\left(2n+1\right)\dfrac{\lambda }{2}.
For the first maxima
n=1n=1. Therefore,
bsin⁡θ=3λ2⇒sin⁡θ=3λ2b=yDy=3λD2bb\sin \theta =\dfrac{3\lambda }{2} \Rightarrow \sin \theta =\dfrac{3\lambda }{2b}=\dfrac{y}{D} y=\dfrac{3\lambda D}{2b}
Now the difference between the positions of the maxima will be,

y1−y2=3D2b(λ1−λ2)⇒y1−y2=3×22×5×10−4×(655−650)×10−9=3×10−5m{y}_{1}-{y}_{2}=\dfrac{3D}{2b}\left({\lambda }_{1}-{\lambda }_{2}\right) \Rightarrow {y}_{1}-{y}_{2}=\dfrac{3\times 2}{2\times 5\times {10}^{-4}}\times \left(655-650\right)\times {10}^{-9}=3\times {10}^{-5}m

JEE Main question paper PDF

Open a shift to read the full paper on this page, or download it.

JEE Main 2025 Apr 2 Shift 1 question paper

Open Download PDF

Opening paper…

Explain it as a whiteboard videoStep-by-step, in Hinglish or English. Your first video needs no login.Solved it on paper but got it wrong?Upload a photo of your working. Mistake Doctor marks the exact line that broke.
See it move: Wave optics: YDSE, diffraction and polarisation simulationDrag the sliders and watch the numbers in this question change.

More Physics practice

JEE Main Physics practice question on Wave Optics (Diffraction of Light), with the answer and a step-by-step solution. Scan a question from your own book or paper to get a whiteboard video.