10.19 A parallel beam of light of wavelength 500 nm falls on a narrow slit and the resulting diffraction pattern is observed on a screen 1 m away. It is observed that the first minimum is at a distance of 2.5 mm from the center of the screen. Find the width of the slit.

Hint: \(n\lambda =x\frac{d}{D}\)
Step 1: Find the width of the slit.

Wavelength of light beam, λ = 500 nm = 500 × 109 m
The distance of the screen from the slit, D = 1 m

For the first minima, n = 1

The distance of the first minimum from the center of the screen,
\(x=2.5~mm.=2.5\times 10^{-3}~m.\)

Now,

nλ=xdDd=nλDx=1×500×109×12.5×103=2×104m=0.2  mm.