Physics – Diffraction
Please review the following question and my corresponding answer. If my answer is incorrect, please correct it. If my answer is correct, please make any changes to my explanation you deem necessary. If you do not think any changes need to be made, please let me know!
Question: We shine red laser light through a single slit, and we see a diffraction pattern on a screen some distance from the slit. When the slit width increases, does the spacing of the diffraction features 2 increase or decrease?
Answer: When the slit width increases, the spacing of the diffraction features increase. This is because the smaller the object the wave interacts with, the more spread there is in the interference pattern. Increasing the size of the opening reduces the spread in the pattern.