(III) The yellow sodium D lines have wavelengths of 589.0 and 589.6 nm. When they are used to illuminate a Michelson interferometer, it is noted that the interference fringes disappear and reappear periodically as the mirror M₁ is moved. Why does this happen? How far must the mirror move between one disappearance and the next?

If you can read the bottom row of your doctor’s eye chart, your eye has a resolving power of 1 arcminute, equal to 1/60 degree. If this resolving power is diffraction-limited, to what effective diameter of your eye’s optical system does this correspond? Use Rayleigh’s criterion and assume λ = 550 nm.

The VLBA (Very Long Baseline Array) uses a number of individual radio telescopes to make one unit having an equivalent diameter of about 8000 km. When this radio telescope is focusing radio waves of wavelength 2.0 cm, what would have to be the diameter of the mirror of a visible-light telescope focusing light of wavelength 550 nm so that the visible-light telescope has the same resolution as the radio telescope?

The Hubble Space Telescope has an aperture of 2.4 m and focuses visible light (380 - 750 nm). The Arecibo radio telescope in Puerto Rico is 305 m (1000 ft) in diameter (it is built in a mountain valley) and focuses radio waves of wavelength 75 cm. Under optimal viewing conditions, what is the smallest crater that each of these telescopes could resolve on our moon?

A wildlife photographer uses a moderate telephoto lens of focal length 135 mm and maximum aperture f/4.00 to photograph a bear that is 11.5 m away. Assume the wavelength is 550 nm. (a) What is the width of the smallest feature on the bear that this lens can resolve if it is opened to its maximum aperture? (b) If, to gain depth of field, the photographer stops the lens down to f/22.0, what would be the width of the smallest resolvable feature on the bear?

Spy planes fly at extremely high altitudes (25 km) to avoid interception. If their cameras are to discern features as small as 5 cm, what is the minimum aperture of the camera lens to afford this resolution? (Use λ = 580nm.)

"(II) A fine metal foil separates one end of two pieces of optically flat glass, as in Fig. 34–20. When light of wavelength 670 nm is incident normally, 24 dark bands are observed (with one at each end). How thick is the foil?"

A diffraction grating has 6.5 x 10⁵ slits/m. Find the angular spread in the second-order spectrum between red light of wavelength 7.0 x 10⁻⁷ m and blue light of wavelength 4.5 x 10⁻⁷ m.

A 3800-slit/cm grating produces a third-order fringe at a 35.0° angle. What wavelength of light is being used?