CD Diffraction

The objective of the experiment is to observe diffraction patterns to calculate the distance between grooves on a compact disc.

Procedure:

See Physics 4C Lab Manual (Martin Sydney Mason), Experiment 12.

Data and Observations

Distance from screen to CD: L=19 cm

Distance between maxima: y=17.5/2 cm=8.75 cm 

Analysis

d*sin(theta)=m*lambda; theta is the angle formed from L and y. Solve for d.

Conclusion and Error Analysis

The calculated value for d is 1535 nm. The actual, given value is 1600 nm. Therefore, the percent error is 4.0625%, which is reasonable given the macroscopic devices used to measure microscopic values.