In Young's double slit experiment, the two slits are $d$ distance apart. Interference pattern is observed on…

In Young's double slit experiment, the two slits are $d$ distance apart. Interference pattern is observed on the screen at a distance $D$ from the slits. Fist dark fringe is observed on the screen directly opposite to one of the slits. The wavelength of the light is.
  1. $\frac{D^2}{2 d}$
  2. $\frac{d^2}{D}$
  3. $\frac{d^2}{2 D}$
  4. $\frac{D^2}{d}$

Solution

Consider the following diagram: The dark fringe is produced at a point just opposite to the slit $S_1$, i.e., $y_1=\frac{d}{2}$ For dark fringe, path difference is odd multiple of half of the wavelength: $\Delta x=(2 n-1) \frac{\lambda}{2}$ From the figure, relation between fringe location and path difference can be obtained as: $\begin{aligned} & \tan \theta=\frac{y}{D} \approx \sin \theta=\frac{\Delta x}{d} \\ & \therefore y=\frac{\Delta x D}{a}=(2 n-1)\left(\frac{\lambda}{2}\right) \cdot\left(\frac{D}{a}\right)=(2 n-1) \frac{\lambda D}{2 d} \end{aligned}$ where $n=1,2,3, \ldots \ldots \ldots$ $\begin{aligned} & \Rightarrow \frac{d}{2}=(2 n-1) \frac{\lambda D}{2 d} \\ & \Rightarrow \lambda=\frac{d^2}{(2 n-1) D}\end{aligned}$ For $n=1$, $\Rightarrow \lambda=\frac{d^2}{D}$

Asked in: MHT CET 2022 (06 Aug Shift 2)

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