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3.5 Exercise 30

Avg difficulty 2.5

Two identical pieces of rectangular plate glass are used to measure the thickness of a hair. The glass plates are in direct contact at one edge and a single hair is placed between them hear the opposite edge. When illuminated with a sodium lamp (λ=589nm\lambda = 589 \text{nm}), the hair is seen between the 180th and 181st dark fringes. What are the lower and upper limits on the hair’s diameter?

OpenStax University Physics Volume 3, 3.5 The Michelson Interferometer, exercise 30

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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.