In: Physics
1) Upon passing monochromatic light (‘one color’ or one wavelength) through a double-slit, a series of equally-spaced bright fringes appears on a screen. This spacing of the fringes depends on the wavelength of the monochromatic light, the distance to the screen, and the spacing between these two slits.
Upon passing this same monochromatic light through this same double-slit with the same distance to the screen, only now with the entire apparatus completely submerged in water, does the fringe spacing increase, decrease, or stay the same?
Water is denser medium as compared to air and when monocromatic light passes through water, the wavelength of it decreases.Fringe width in double slit experiment is given by
= D/d
where is fringe width, D is distance of slit to screen and d is slit width.
Keeping other parameter unchanged since,the wavelength is decreasing in water, the fringe spacing will decrease.