A diffraction grating has 500 lines per mm. What is the highest order diffraction maximum for light of wavelength 600 nm?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. m = 3

  1. Step 1: Grating spacing d = 1 mm / 500 = 2.0 10^-6 m = 2000 nm. Step 2. Condition dsin(theta) = mlambda gives m = dsin(theta)/lambda. Max sin(theta) = 1, so m_max = floor(2000 / 600) = 3. Answer: m = 3. Why not the others: m = 4 would require sin(theta) = 4 * 600 / 2000 = 1.2, which is impossible.

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