A parallel beam of monochromatic light of wavelength 800 nm passes through a single slit of 0.25 mm width. The angular divergence corresponding to the second order minima will be:

Step-by-step solution

For single slit diffraction, the n -th order minimum occurs at a = n . For small angles, = n a . Angular divergence = total spread between second-order minima on both sides = 2 = 2n a 2 = 2 2 800 10⁻⁹ 0.25 10⁻³ = 3200 10⁻⁹ 0.25 10⁻³ = 12800 10⁻⁶ = 12.8 10⁻³ rad