One more question about Young's double slit experiment

[ErectusX]

Hi,

I would like to know what would happen if we altered one of the slits by making it into a very very long tunnel (an optical cable that would run for a significant distance, but would come out on the other side of the screen almost in the same spot of its beginning).

Would this destroy the experiment, or would it 'slow down' the photon passing through the 'tunnel' slit?

 

[neu]

so are you saying that you are looping the optical fibre round so it's end is it's beginning which is where the slit was?

If I understand you correctly all you are doing is introducing a path difference

A requirement of the double slight experiment is that the indicent wave is coherent and monochromatic so regardless of what happens before the slits, as long as the phonons just before the slits fulfil this criteria then an interference pattern will occur.

 

[denian]

Hello,

That is an interesting question! Altering one of the slits in Young's double slit experiment by making it into a long tunnel would certainly change the dynamics of the experiment. It is difficult to say exactly what would happen without further details, but here are a few possibilities:

1. If the tunnel is completely opaque, meaning no light can pass through it, then the experiment would essentially become a single slit experiment. This is because the light would only be able to pass through one slit (the non-tunnel one) and create a single interference pattern.

2. If the tunnel is partially transparent, then some light would pass through it and interfere with the light from the other slit. This would result in a modified interference pattern, potentially with some dark spots where the light from the tunnel slit cancels out the light from the other slit.

3. If the tunnel is completely transparent, then the experiment would essentially remain the same, with the addition of some light passing through the tunnel and potentially creating a slight change in the interference pattern.

In terms of the photon passing through the tunnel, it would not necessarily "slow down" as it would still be traveling at the speed of light. However, the length of the tunnel may affect the phase of the photon and therefore impact the interference pattern. This is a complex phenomenon and would require further study and experimentation to fully understand.

Overall, altering one of the slits in Young's double slit experiment in this way would certainly add an interesting element to the experiment and could potentially provide valuable insights into the nature of light and interference. Thank you for your thought-provoking question!