All Problems

Diffraction of Light

Problem 5.149

There is a microscope whose objective's numerical aperture is sinα=0.24,\sin \alpha=0.24, where α\alpha is the half-angle subtended by the objec tive's rim. Find the minimum separation resolved by this microscope when an object is illuminated by light with wavelength λ=0.55μm\lambda=0.55 \mu \mathrm{m}.

Reveal Answer
dmin=0.61λ/sinα=1.4μmd_{\min }=0.61 \lambda / \sin \alpha=1.4 \mu \mathrm{m}