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Diffraction Grating

1,452 bytes added, 23 May
Created page with "==Key Stage 5== ===Meaning=== A diffraction grating is a plate with many closely ruled parallel slits that disperses white light into..."
==Key Stage 5==
===Meaning===
A [[Diffraction Grating|diffraction grating]] is a plate with many closely ruled parallel slits that disperses white [[Visible Light|light]] into a spectrum or produce several diverging beams from a single [[laser]] beam.

===About Diffraction Gratings===
*'''Diffraction gratings''' produce multiple [[Diffraction Order|diffraction orders]] for a single [[monochromatic]] beam of [[laser]] [[Visible Light|light]].
*When white light is incident upon a '''diffraction grating''' it will produce a single white band of light in the centre of the screen followed by a series of repeating spectra. As the distance from the centre of the screen increases with violet closest to the centre and red furthest.
*'''Diffraction Gratings''' can resolve very fine details in the spectrum, making them useful in spectroscopy.


===Formula===
*The [[diffraction]] angle depends on the [[wavelength]] of the [[Visible Light|light]] and the [[Grating Spacing|spacing of the slits]] with the relation given by this formula:

*<math>𝑑sinπœƒ=π‘›πœ†</math>

Where:

𝑑 is the slit spacing (though frequently the number of slits per mm is given and this must be calculated first)

πœƒ is the angle between the beam order and the central axis

𝑛 is the beam order with the zeroth beam order being along the central axis and the first beam order being smallest angle from beam to central axis

πœ† is the [[wavelength]] of the beam