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4.5 Exercise 11

Avg difficulty 2.5

The limit to the eye’s acuity is actually related to diffraction by the pupil. (a) What is the angle between two just-resolvable points of light for a 3.00-mm-diameter pupil, assuming an average wavelength of 550 nm? (b) Take your result to be the practical limit for the eye. What is the greatest possible distance a car can be from you if you can resolve its two headlights, given they are 1.30 m apart? (c) What is the distance between two just-resolvable points held at an arm’s length (0.800 m) from your eye? (d) How does your answer to (c) compare to details you normally observe in everyday circumstances?

OpenStax University Physics Volume 3, 4.5 Circular Apertures and Resolution, exercise 11

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Adapted from University Physics Volume 3 © 2016 Rice University. Licensed under CC BY 4.0. Source: University Physics Volume 3. Imported at revision db44eb9.