Observing Light through Two Slits: Wave vs. Particle Theory

[rojasharma]

two closely spaced slits are cut into a piece of cardboard. A green light is used to illuminate the slits. a) what would be observed on a screen placed L, meters behind the cardboard? does the observation you described in a) support the wave theory or the particle theory of light? justify your answer. b) the green light is then replaced with a red light. use the equation delta x=lambdaL/d to explain how the image on the screen would differ.
I don;t understand what question is asking . for a i think i would observe a bright light on the screen. for part b...why would the observation change if the color of light is changed?

 

[mikelepore]

Your textbook must have a drawing or a photograph that shows the pattern that will appear on the screen. Look in the index of the book for such terms as "diffraction" or "Young's experiment" or "double slit experiment". If you can find the picture, see if your choice of words, "a bright light on the screen", are really the best way to describe how it looks.

Also, the text nearby that picture will probably show a derivation of the expression lambda L / d. Some assumptions that were necessary before doing that derivation are probably listed by the author.

 

[Moetasim]

I would like to provide a response to the content presented regarding observing light through two slits and the wave vs. particle theory.

a) When a green light is used to illuminate the slits, the observer would observe a pattern of alternating bright and dark fringes on the screen placed L meters behind the cardboard. This observation supports the wave theory of light. According to the wave theory, light behaves like a wave and when it passes through the two slits, it diffracts and creates an interference pattern on the screen. This pattern is only possible if light is behaving like a wave.

b) When the green light is replaced with red light, the image on the screen would differ in terms of the spacing between the fringes. This can be explained using the equation delta x = lambdaL/d, where delta x is the distance between the fringes on the screen, lambda is the wavelength of light, L is the distance between the slits and the screen, and d is the distance between the two slits. As the wavelength of red light is longer than that of green light, the distance between the fringes on the screen would be larger for red light compared to green light. This further supports the wave theory of light, as the distance between the fringes is dependent on the wavelength of light.

In conclusion, the observation of an interference pattern on the screen when using green light and the change in the pattern when using red light both support the wave theory of light. The behavior of light in this experiment is better explained by its wave-like nature rather than a particle-like nature.