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Carlo Margio 2017-08-31

Lecture 1

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We will study optics using two techniques: ray optics (also called geometrical optics), where we
represent light as a arrow, or directed line, and wave optics (also called physical optics), where we
treat light as a series of wavefronts. These methods usually apply to different setups and we can
usually only use one method, or the other for a given physical situation. Ray optics apply when the
wavelength of light is much smaller than the objects with which the light interacts, and wave optics
applies when the wavelength of light is about the same size as the objects with which the light
interacts.

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Wolfson Chapter 30
We will now look at some cases where ray optics or geometrical optics is a good approximation;
that is to say when the wavelength of the light is much smaller than the objects with which the light
interacts.

We treat light as though it travels in directed lines called rays. At the interface between two dissimi-
lar materials light rays can be reflected or transmitted or both.

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Wolfson 30.1
When a ray reflects off a surface the angle if incidence θincidence , is equal to the angle of reflection
θreflection . We measure both these angles between the ray and the normal, where the normal is an
imaginary line perpendicular to the reflecting surface.

θincidence = θreflection reflection

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Figure 2.1 Ray reflecting from a surface. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.

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Let us now introduce the powerful technique of ray tracing to work out how the reflection of an
object in a mirror will appear to us. The object we are looking at is an arrow. We locate the apparent
position of the reflected tip of the arrow by tracing one line from the tip of the arrow to our eye and
extending this line back into the mirror. We then trace a different ray as though we are looking from
another vantage point directly behind the tip of the arrow, and perpendicular to the surface of the
mirror. The point where these two rays intersect is where the virtual tip of the reflected arrow will
appear to be.

Figure 2.2 Ray reflecting from a surface. The angle of incidence is equal to the angle of reflection.
The virtual image of the arrow appears to be as far behind the mirror as the real arrow is in front of
the mirror. That is in the diagram above D = D’.
 O.nb ��� 3

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If you have a mirror that is half as tall as you are, you can place the mirror so that you can see all of
your own reflection (minus your toes perhaps). To prove this we will use ray tracing.

Take your height and divide it into two parts as follows: the part from your eyes to your feet which
we will label A, and the part from your eyes to the top of your head which we will label B. The ray
A+B
trace diagram below shows that rays from a strategically placed mirror with a height of 2
will
project an image of your whole height A + B into your eyes.

A+B
Figure 2.3 Your height is A+B. The length of mirror you need to see all of yourself is 2
, or one-
half of your height.

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Wolfson 30.2

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Light travels at its faster speed c in a vacuum. It travels more slowly at v in all transparent media.
The speed v in a transparent medium is less that c because light is captured by atoms in the
medium, and then re-emitted, and this process slows the light wave down.

We define the index of refraction n of a transparent medium as follows:

c
n ≡ definition of refractive index
v

where:
n — the refractive index of the transparent medium
c — the speed of light in a vacuum
4 ��� O.nb

v — the speed of light in the transparent medium.

Look at the figure below of a light wave passing from transparent medium-1 with refractive index n1 ,
to transparent medium-2 which has a larger refractive index of n2 . The larger refractive index of
medium-2 means that light travels more slowly in medium-2, that is v2 is smaller that v1 . Now the
frequency of the light wave remains the same after crossing the boundary so by the identity
v2 = f λ2 , we know that the wavelength in medium-2 λ2 must be shorter than that in medium-1 λ1 .

Figure 2.4 Speed in medium-2 v2 is less than in medium-1 v1 but the frequency is unchanged, and
since v = f λ, we see that λ2 < λ1 .
We will now find the ratio of wavelength in medium-1 λ1 , to the that in medium-2 λ2 .

Using the equation c = f λ and the definition of refractive index we get

c
f λ1 = v1 = n
1

or
f λ 1 n1 = c — (1)
Similarly
c
f λ2 = v 2 = n2
f λ 2 n2 = c — (2)
The right sides of (1) and (2) are equal so the left sides are also equal
f λ 1 n1 = f λ 2 n2
and because frequency does not change when light is transmitted to a new medium we can elimi-
nate it from the equality and we get

n1 λ1 = n2 λ2 (1)

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Here are the refractive indexes of some common substances; gases, liquids, and solids.
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Figure 2.5 Refractive indices of some common substances.

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If a light ray strikes a boundary between two transparent media, part of it can be transmitted and
part can be reflected. Part of the ray can also be absorbed, but we will not deal with the absorbed
part in this topic.

Below is a diagram with medium-1 on the left and medium-2 on the right. Ray-1, is incident on the
boundary at an angle to the normal of θ1 . Part can be reflected at angle θ1 ' where θ1 = θ1 ', and part
can be transmitted at angle θ2 , where θ2 ≠ θ1 . This bending of light on transmission through a
boundary is called refraction.
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Figure 2.6 Ray-1 strikes the boundary between medium-1 and medium-2 at and angle θ1 to the
normal. Part of the ray can be reflected at angle θ1 ' and part can be transmitted at angle θ2 . The
transmitted ray is said to be refracted.

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Wavefronts are lines that show the light waves associate with a ray. A wavefront is a line on what
the wave has a the same phase — for example it can represent the peak of the wave. Wavefronts
are perpendicular to the ray.

Figure 2.7 Wavefronts perpendicular to the ray.

Now look at the ray in the figure below. It is incident on a boundary at angle θ1 to the normal.
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Figure 2.8 Ray incident on boundary showing the refracted ray and the wavefronts of both rays.
The figure shows what happens to the wavefronts as they enter the medium-2 which has a larger
refractive index. As the wavefronts slow down the wavelength gets shorter and the wavefronts are
compressed closer together. The condition that the wavefronts must join together at the boundary
allows us to calculate the angle of refraction, θ2 .

We have labeled the distance D in the above figure. It is the distance between wavefronts as mea-
sured along the boundary.
λ1 = D sinθ1
multiply both sides by n1
n1 λ1 = n1 D sinθ1 — (2)
Similarly
λ2 = D sin θ2
and
n2 λ2 = n2 D sin θ2 — (3)
Using identity (1) from the previous section (n1 λ1 = n2 λ2 ), we can set (2) equal to (3)
n1 D sin θ1 = n2 D sin θ2
or

n1 sin θ1 = n2 sin θ2 Snell’s law (2)

where
n1 — refractive index of medium-1
θ1 — angle to the normal if incident ray
n2 — refractive index of medium-2
θ2 — angle to the normal of the refractive ray
The above law is named Snell’s law for the Dutch astronomer Willebrord Snellius (1580 - 1626).
8 ��� O.nb

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Wolfson 30.3
For a ray that passes from a medium with a higher refractive index, to one with a lesser refractive
index there is an angle called the critical angle θc where the ray will travel along the interface
between the two media.

Figure 2.9 When passing from a medium-1 with a higher refractive index n1 , to medium-2 with a
lower refractive index n2 , then at the critical angle θc1 the light ray will bend along the surface
between the two media.
When n1 > n2 we can use Snell’s law to find the critical angle
π
n1 sin θc1 = n2 sin 2
π
The angle of refraction is 2
, because the light is refracted along the boundary at a right angle to the
π
normal, and since sin 2
=1

n2
sin θc1 = θc — critical angle from n1 to n2
n1

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Find the critical angle for light traveling from water nwater = 1.33, to air nair = 1.00.

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For water to air
nair
θc = sin-1 nwater
1.00
= sin-1 1.33

1.00 180
ArcSin 
1.33 π
48.7535

θc = 48.8 °

A ray at an angle greater than the critical angle, will have a reflected component only and no transmit-
ted component — this is called total internal reflection.
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Figure 2.10 What a fish sees.

For a fish in a lake looking up, the fish sees the entire upper hemisphere above the water line
compressed into a cone with half-angle θc . Beyond that cone the fish sees a reflection of the under-
water part of its pool — it may for instance see another fish reflected in the surface.
If you want to experience the view a fish sees you can try holding your breath and lying quietly on
the bottom of a shallow, 1 metre deep, swimming pool. You will need to hold on to a weight to stay
down.

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Other than lying on the bottom of a pool, an easier way to get an idea of what a fish sees is to look
at the world through a fisheye lens. Below is an example of a photo taken with a fisheye lens.
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Figure 2.11 Photo taken through a fisheye lens. Notice that at the top of the photo you can see the
buildings over the photographer’s head.
Below is a fisheye lens and a cutaway view showing the combination of high-art, and science that
goes into lens making.
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Figure 2.12 A Canon f/2.8 Fisheye lens (from The EF Lens World Book).

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International internet signals are carried on undersea fibre-optic cables. A fibre-optic cable relies on
total internal reflection to carry a light signal along its length. Fibre-optic cables are made of silica
glass which has a relatively high refractive index of 1.44. The refractive index of the surrounding air
is around 1.00 so the critical angle is 44.0° from the normal. If the cable is not bent too sharply, the
light will travel along the cable’s length with a series of total internal reflections.

Figure 2.13 Light traveling along a silica glass fibre optic cable. θc from silica glass to air is 44.0°.

Demo — TOSLINK cable and laster pen to show transmission over a bent optic cable
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Wolfson 30.4
Refractive index depends on frequency. For instance for crown glass

colour λ nm  n θr (θi = 45 °)

red 640 1.50917 27.94 °
green 590 1.51534 27.82 °
violet 439 1.52136 27.70 °

Figure 2.14 Table giving refractive index of crown glass for light of various colours. Also shown is
the angle of refraction, θr , for a light ray incident on the glass surface at θi = 45 °.
As we see from the table above, the higher frequency (shorter wavelength) violet is diffracted more
than the lower frequency red. Violet is diffracted more because its angle of refraction θr is closer to
the normal.

Figure 2.15 Light incident on a prism of crown glass with θi = 45 °. Violet is more strongly deflec-
tion toward the normal because it has a larger refractive index, and its angle of refraction θr is
smaller than that of red. (The deflection has been exaggerated to make it clearer.)

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Find the angle of refraction for a violet light ray (λ = 439 nm) passing from air nair = 1.00029 and
incident on a surface of crown glass at θi = 45.0000 °

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nair sin θi = nglass sin θref
where
nglass (violet) = 1.52136
n
sin θref-violet = n air sin θi
glass
nair
θref-violet = sin-1  n sin θi 
glass

1.00029 1
= sin-1 1.52136
2

nair 1 180
λpeak = ArcSin  /. {nair → 1.00029, nglass → 1.52136}
nglass 2 π
27.7051

θref-violet = 27.705 °
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Lecture 2

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Wolfson Chapter 31

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Wolfson 31.2
We will cover only the thin lens approximation in this course.

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A convex, or converging lens — light rays parallel to the lens axis converge at a focal point

Figure 3.1 Convex lens showing light rays parallel to the lens axis passing through the focal point.

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For our ray tracing for lenses we will rely on two types of special rays.
◼ A ray parallel to the axis that will pass through the focal point of the lens
◼ A ray through the centre of the lens that will pass through the thin lens undeflected.

Figure 3.2 Convex lens showing the two rays that we use in a ray trace diagram. The ray parallel to
the axis that passes through the focal point, and the ray through the centre of the lens that is
undeflected.

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To complete a ray trace for a convex lens, we place the object arrow with its base on the lens axis
and draw our two special rays from the tip of the object arrow. Where those rays meet we have the
14 ��� O.nb

tip of the image arrow. If our special rays diverge as in the case below where the object distance S
is less that the focal length f, then we extend the rays back until they do meet and form a virtual
image.

The figure below shows and object placed at four different distances from the lens and the image
that results.

Figure 3.3 Ray traces of a convex lens, showing an object and its image for four different place-
ments of the object.
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Have a look at the convex lens in the figure below. We show the ray trace for the object at the left
and have labeled several points that will allow us to identify similar triangles. We will use this diar-
gram to derive the lens equation.

Figure 3.4 Diagram showing similar triangles that we use to derive the lens equation, and the
magnification equation.
Using similar triangles OAB and ICB (similar by angle-angle), gives

h' s'
M ≡ = - magnification definition and equation
h s

where:
h — object height
h' — image height
s — object distance
s' — image distance
Using similar triangles DBF and ICF (similar by angle-angle), we get
h h'
f
= - s- f
- h'h = f
s' - f
+ s's = f
s' - f
using the inverse of the magnification equation.
s(s' - f ) = s' f
s s' = s' f + sf
= f (s' + s)
1
f
= s's'+ss

1 1 1
= + lens equation
f s s'

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A convex lens has a focal length of f = 15.7 cm. We want a real image, with one-half magnification.
A) What is the object distance, s?
B) What is the screen (or image) distance, s’?
16 ��� O.nb

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◼ A) What is the object distance?
1
Image is real so magnification is negative, and we are told the magnification has a value of 2 .
1
Therefore M = - 2 . Now
s'
M= -s
s' = -M s
1
setting M = - 2 gives,
1
s' = 2
s — (1)
Using this value for s’ in the lens equation
1 1 1
f
= s
+ s'
1 2
= s
+ s
1+2
= s
1 3
f
= s
s = 3f
3 f /. {f → 15.7}
47.1

Object distance s = 47.1 cm

◼ B) What is the image distance?
Using equation (1) from Part A
1
s' = 2
s
1
s /. {s → 47.1}
2
23.55

The image distance s' = 23.6 cm

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Wolfson 31.2

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A concave or diverging lens — light rays parallel to the lens axis diverge, and appear to come from
the focal point
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Figure 3.5 Concave lens showing light rays parallel to the lens axis extended back through the focal
point.

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For the convex lens we again use our two preferred rays for ray tracing.

Figure 3.6 Ray traces for a concave lens. There is only 1 case regardless of the object distance.
There is only once case for a convex lens. The image distance, s’, is negative because the image
and the object are on the same side of the lens.

Lecture 3

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Wolfson Chapter 32
We now move to wave (or physical) optics where the wavelength of light is about the same size as
the objects with which it interacts.
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Wolfson 32.1
Waves are coherent when they have the same amplitude, wavelength, and phase. Coherent waves
usually originate from a single source.

Figure 4.1 Wave-1 and wave-2 are coherent with the same amplitude, wavelength, and phase.
If coherent waves from the same source travel on different paths, we get a path difference. When
these waves come together again we get interference.

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Constructive interference occurs when a path difference is an even multiple of wavelength.

Δpath = m λ m = 0, 1, 2, ... Constructive interference

Figure 4.2 Constructive interference when waves recombine after a path difference of m λ.

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Destructive interference occurs when a path difference is a multiple of the wavelength, plus a half
wavelength.

1
Δpath = m + λ m = 0, 1, 2, ... Constructive interference
2

1
Figure 4.3 Destructive interference when waves recombine after a path difference of m + 2  λ.
 O.nb ��� 19

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Wolfson 32.2
Thomas Young (1773 - 1829) performed the double-slit experiment in 1803. When coherent light
passes through two narrow, closely spaced slits, and is then projected onto a screen, we see an
interference pattern.
Take the image below from a double-slit assembly with 0.7 mm between slits. A diffraction pattern is
seen in the projected image.

Figure 4.4 A diffraction pattern from a double-slit assembly.

Here is schematic diagram of the double-slit assembly showing the two slits and the bright fringes
on the screen.

Figure 4.5 Schematic diagram of double-slit assembly.

We will get a maximum when the path difference is an even multiple of wavelengths.

Figure 4.6 Deducing the angle at which a maximum occurs using the path difference.
If the distance to the screen is much greater than the slit separation then
20 ��� O.nb

Δpath = d sin θ
The condition for a bright fringe or maximum can be stated as follows:

d sin θ = m λ m = 0, 1, 2, ... Double-slit bright fringe

And the condition for a dark fringe is as follows:

1
d sin θ = m + λ m = 0, 1, 2, ... Double-slit dark fringe
2

For small angles (small values of θ), we can use the small angle approximation for sin θ
l
sin θ = L
where:
l — distance from central axis of equipment to maximum
L — distance from slits to screen.

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Wolfson 32.3

Figure 4.7 Diffraction grating with multiple slits or lines, say 3000 lines ·cm-1 .
The same condition as for a double slit applies for bright fringes.
 O.nb ��� 21

Figure 4.8 Bright fringe in a diffraction grating.

d sin θ = m λ m = 0, 1, 2, ... Diffraction grating bright fringe

where:
d — separation between adjacent slits of the grating.

Grating separation is often quoted in lines per centimetre, or lines per millimetre.

Lecture 4

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Wolfson 32.4
Two examples of a thin film are a soap bubble, and an oil slick on a puddle of water.

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In the figure below ray-i is incident on the front face of the film. Part of the incident ray is reflected off
the front face of the film ray-f, and part is transmitted, and reflected off the back face of the film ray-b.
22 ��� O.nb

Figure 4.9 The incident ray, ray-i, is partly reflected off the front face of the film, ray-f, and partly
transmitted, and subsequently reflected off the back face of the film, ray-b.
We need to take into account three effects to analyse reflection of a thin film.
◼ The light has a shorter wavelength when inside the film.
◼ There is a phase change of π in the ray reflected off the front face.
◼ The ray reflected off the back face traverses the film twice — once going toward the back of the
film on the way in, and then going toward the front of the film on the way out.
We'll cover each effect in turn in the following three sub-sections.

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First looking at the wavelength inside the film. Because the refractive index of the film is higher than
that of air, the wavelength of light is shorter inside the film than it is in air. This effect is shown in the
figure below.

Figure 4.10 The light wave has a shorter wavelength inside the film than in air because the film has
a higher refractive index than air.
As we say previously

nair λair = nfilm λ'film

λ
λ' = nfilm
(1)
where:
λ’ — wavelength of light in the film
λ — wavelength of light in air
nfilm — refractive index of the film

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A second effect that we must consider is that the ray reflected from the front face, ray-f, has a phase
change of π, because it reflects from a medium with a higher index of refraction. The ray that
reflects of the back face, ray-b, has no phase change, because it reflects off a medium with a lower
refractive index.
For constructive interference the path difference must be an integer multiple of wavelength, plus a
half wavelength — the half wavelength to account for the phase change in ray-f.
 O.nb ��� 23

Figure 4.11 The ray reflected off the front face, rf , has a phase shift of π, so the wave reflected off
λ'
the back face, rb , must have an extra 2
path difference, to interfere constructively with rf .

So the condition for a bright fringe is the following:

1
Δpath = m λ' + 2
λ' m = 0, 1, 2, ... (2)
where:
λ' — wavelength of the light inside the film.

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The final factor we must take into consideration, is that the path difference is twice the thickness of
the film or 2d, because the light wave inside the film traverses the film twice — once from front to
back, and then after the reflection off the back face, again from back to front.

So
Δpath = 2 d (3)
where:
d — the thickness of the film.

Putting together (1), (2), and (3) we get

1
Δpath = m + 2
 λ' from (2)
1 λ
= m + 
2 nfilm
using (1)
1 λ
2d = m + 
2 nfilm
using (3)

1 1 λ
d = m+ m = 0, 1, 2, ...
2 2 nfilm
constructive interference of a thin film

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A vertical soap film is affected by gravity and becomes progressively thicker toward the bottom. If
we shine a coherent light on the film, such as a laser, we will see horizontal bright and dark bands.
This is because we get a bright fringe where the thickness of the film just happens to satisfy the
thickness condition for a bright fringe as given above.
24 ��� O.nb

Figure 4.12 Cross-section view of a soap film under the influence of gravity showing that the film
becomes progressively thicker toward the bottom. If we shine coherent light on the film, we get
horizontal bright fringes, where the thickness of the film just happens to satisfy the thickness condi-
tion for a bright fringe.
 O.nb ��� 25

Figure 4.13 Interference in a soap film illuminated with white light. We see bright fringes where the
thickness of the film happens to have the right thickness to satisfy the condition for a bright fringe.

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Wolfson 32.5
In the figure below we show a schematic diagram of the single slit apparatus not to scale (N.T.S).
We have superimposed on the screen a graph of the intensity pattern for the light falling on the
screen. We see a large central maximum and then many secondary maxima, that become less
intense as the angle from the centre increases.
26 ��� O.nb

Figure 4.14 Schematic diagram showing the single slit apparatus, and the resulting intensity pattern
on the screen.

Figure 4.15 Actual intensity graph of diffraction pattern from a 100 μm single slit from image taken
in Taylors lab in 2017 trimester 2. (Carlo)
Refer to your textbook for the derivation, but the condition for a dark fringe with a single slit, is
similar to that for a bright fringe for a double slit.

a sin θ = m λ m = ±1, ±2, ±3, ... dark fringe for a single slit

where:
a — aperture width
 O.nb ��� 27

θ — angle to dark fringe from central line of the apparatus (the perpendicular bisector
of the slit)

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Providing the angle θ is small enough, we can use the small angle approximation.

Figure 4.16 Relationship of θ to � and L when θ is small.

The exact relationship between θ, �, and L is
tan θ =
�
L
But we can approximate θ. From the diagram above we see that the angle in radians (arc distance
divided by radius), is approximately the following:
θ≃
�
L
We can then use the small angle approximation for sin θ

l
≃ θ ≃ sin θ ≃ tan θ small angle approximation — θ in radians
L

where:
θ — angle must be measured in ��������
l — distance to the minimum from the central line
L — distance to the screen from the slits
The angle θ will be small if L >> l.
y
0.4

0.3
sin(θ )rad

y1 (t) = sin(θrad )
0.2
y2 (t) = xrad

0.1

5 10 15 20
θ°

Figure 4.17 Plot of θ in radians, and sin θ on the same axes. Note that up to about 5°, they are
almost the same.
28 ��� O.nb

y
0.4

0.3
tan(θrad )
y1 (t) = tan(θrad )
0.2
y2 (t) = xrad

0.1

5 10 15 20
θ°

Figure 4.18 Plot of θ in radians, and tan θ on the same axes. Just as with sine above, up to about
5° the plots have almost the same value.
Using the small angle approximation with the equation for the position of single slit dark fringes we
get

�
a = mλ m = ±1, ±2, ±3, ...
L
single slit dark fringes for a small angle when � << L

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Wolfson 32.6
Examples of circular apertures are:
◼ your eye (the pupil),
◼ a camera lens,
◼ a telescope,
◼ a microscope object lens.
Let’s look at a telescope. The figure below shows the image of a disk on the telescope screen
(usually these days, an array of CCDs like a camera). The image is a diffraction pattern, with a
bright central disk, and with circular light fringes around it. Behind the screen we show a graph of
light intensity, that also shows the central maximum, and the smaller secondary maxima.

Figure 4.19 A telescope showing the image of a disk. The image has a bright central disk, with light
circular fringes around it.
If the aperture of the telescope has a diameter D, then the angle to the first minimum of the diffrac-
tion pattern is given by the Airy disk equation as:
 O.nb ��� 29

1.22 λ
θmin = angle to first minimum of a circular aperture
D

where:
D — diameter of the aperture
The figure below represents the Hubble telescope, viewing an asteroid passing, say, Charon the
moon of Pluto. If Charon is aligned with the central axis of the telescope, then the angle that the
asteroids makes with the central axis is θ.

Figure 4.20 Hubble telescope viewing Charon, and an asteroid separated by an angle θ.
If the two objects are close together, then the central disk of their image on the telescope screen will
overlap.

Figure 4.21 The intensity plots of the images on the telescope screen of the two objects. The graph
shows the central maximum of one image, lined up with the first minimum of the second image.

The Rayleigh criterion says that we can just barely resolve the images of two objects as separate
objects, when the central maxiumum of the diffraction pattern of the first object's image, lines up
with the first minium of the diffraction pattern of the second object's image.

It should be noted that the Rayleigh criterion is only a guide, and some argue that objects that are
slightly closer together than the minimum Rayleigh angular separation can sometimes still be
resolved.

The above graph shows two images, that according to the Rayleigh criterion can just be resolved as
separate objects. The angle to the first minimum is given by the Airy disk equation for the first
minimum of a circular diffraction pattern
30 ��� O.nb

1.22 λ
θ= angular separation of two object that can just be resolved – θ in radians.
D

where:
θ — minimum angular separation of two objects, that can just be resolved
(this is also the angle of the first minimum in ������� of a circular diffraction pattern).

Figure 4.22 The intensity plots of the images on the telescope screen of the two asteroids. The
outside envelope is the sum of the two images and is what we see. We just sum the two waves,
because the sources are incoherent. Plot (a), shows easily resolved objects, (b) show objects that
just meet the Rayleigh criterion, and (c) shows objects that cannot be resolved because they are
separated by an angle less than the Rayleigh criterion. The object in plot (c) appear to us to be one
object.
 O.nb ��� 31

Figure 4.23 Images of two objects that can be easily be resolved (left image), ranging through to an
image where the objects cannot be resolved (right). Note that the Rayleigh criterion is only a guide,
and some would argue that the image second from the right could be resolved also.

����������������
Two asteroids are at a distance of 20 × 106 km. The Hubble telescope has diameter D = 2.4 m.

If using sunlight of λ = 550 nm, the Hubble telescope can just resolve the two asteroids, then what
is the separation of the asteroids?

���������
Using the Rayleigh criterion the angle the two asteroids make with with each other on reaching the
telescope is:
1.22 λ
θmin = D
(1)
Now
l
tan θmin =
L
and by the small angle approximation
l
θmin = L (2)
Using (1) and (2)
l 1.22 λ
L
= D
1.22 λ L
l= D
1.22 × 550 × 10-9 × 20 × 109
= 2.4
3
= 5.591 × 10
1.22 λ L
λpeak = /. λ → 550 × 10-9 , L → 20 × 109 , D → 2.4
D
5591.67

The separation of the asteroids is l = 5.6 km