Question

In a single slit diffraction experiment, how does the angular width of the central maxima change when:

1. screen is moved away from the plane of the slit?
2. width of the slit is increased?
3. light of larger wavelength is used?

Answer 1

The angular width of central maximum ∝ `lambda/"e"`:

1. Angular width remains unchanged when the screen is moved away from the plane of the slit.
2. The angular width decreases when the width of slit (e) is increased.
3. The angular width will increase if light of larger wavelength (λ) is used.