Light Is Shone Through an Adjustable-Width Slit in an Otherwise

question 18

Multiple Choice

Light is shone through an adjustable-width slit in an otherwise opaque barrier, and a diffraction pattern is observed. If the slit is decreased to half its original size, by what factor does the width of the central diffraction maximum change?

• A) Decreases by a factor of four
• B) Doubles
• C) Halves
• D) Increases four times