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Why does a single slit diffraction pattern occur?

When light passes through a narrow gap it will diffract (spread out). This means the light reaching the screen could have come from anywhere within the slit. If one wavefront passes through the left of the s...
JH
Answered by Jordan H. • Physics tutor
15742 Views

How big a magnetic field does the LHC require to contain its protons?

In the LHC protons are accelerated to almost the speed of light. They are contained in the circular accelerator by the 1232 superconducting dipole magnets. How strong does the magentic field need to be? If t...
MS
Answered by Mark S. • Physics tutor
3555 Views

What are some key differences between sound and light waves?

Sound waves have mass, as they are the longitudinal (along the path of the wave) vibration shockwave of molecule, while light waves do not, as they are the transverse displacement of just energy. Sound waves...
YP
Answered by Yaniv P. • Physics tutor
62531 Views

What is the force on a moving charged particle in a magnetic field, and why is no work done by this force when it accelerates the particle?

A particle with electric charge q , mass m and velocity v in a constant magnetic field B experiences a force due to the field: F = q v X B The ' X ' ( cross-product ) means that the force is always at 90° ( ...
RP
Answered by Rich P. • Physics tutor
13472 Views

What does the double slit experiment tell us about light?

Imagine an opaque barrier (no light can get through) with two parallel slits in it, onto which we shine a coherent light source (light of only one wavelength and in phase - a laser, for example, can produce ...
AO
Answered by Adam O. • Physics tutor
9070 Views