WOLFRAM|DEMONSTRATIONS PROJECT

Multiple Slit Diffraction Pattern

​
slit width
0.5
slit spacing
2.5
number of slits
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
horizontal range
10
In this Demonstration we visualize the diffraction pattern of
n
equally spaced slits of equal width, also known as a diffraction grating. It can be shown that the diffraction pattern is equivalent to the diffraction pattern for
n
delta function slits modulated by the diffraction pattern of a single slit of finite width. The latter thus acts as an envelope, shown by the thick dashed line. Special cases of this system include the single (
n=1
) and double (
n=2
) slits, which appear in introductory physics courses. The horizontal scale is arbitrary and the vertical scale normalized to the peak intensity.