In a Young double slit experiment, the wavelength of incident light is 6000 Å, the separation between slits S_1 and S_2 is 5 cm and the distance…
JEE Main 2026 — Physics Optics
2026mcqmedium
In a Young double slit experiment, the wavelength of incident light is 6000 Å, the separation between slits S1 and S2 is 5 cm and the distance between slits plane and screen is 50 cm, as shown in the figure below. If the resultant intensity at P is equal to the intensity due to individual slits, the path difference between interfering waves is __________ Å.
Official previous-year question
Held on 6 Apr 2026 · Verified 6 Jul 2026.
Options
A
4000
B
3000
C
2000
D
1000
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Solution
Let the intensity due to each individual slit be I0.
The resultant intensity IR at a point where the phase difference is ϕ is given by:
IR=I1+I2+2I1I2cosϕ
Given that I1=I2=I0 and the resultant intensity IR=I0, we can substitute these values into the equation:
I0=I0+I0+2I0⋅I0cosϕ
I0=2I0+2I0cosϕ
I0=2I0(1+cosϕ)
1+cosϕ=21
cosϕ=−21
The minimum phase difference satisfying this condition is:
ϕ=32π
The relationship between phase difference ϕ and path difference Δx is:
ϕ=λ2πΔx
Substituting the value of ϕ:
32π=λ2πΔx
Δx=3λ
Given the wavelength λ=6000A˚:
Δx=36000=2000A˚
Answer: 2000
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