
According to the given diagram, the path difference for minima at P is given by
Δx=2D2+d2−2D...(1)
And, from the condition of minima, it follows that
Δx=2λ...(2)
Equations (1) and (2) imply that
2D2+d2−2D=2λ
⇒D2+d2−D=4λ
⇒D2+d2=4λ+D
⇒D2+d2=D2+16λ2+2Dλ
⇒d2=2Dλ+16λ2
⇒d2=20.2×400×10−9+1616×10−14
⇒d2≈400×10−10
∴d==20×10−5m0.20mm
Therefore, 10α=2.