A bright beam of light from a laser passes through a tiny pinhole on its way to a projection screen on the other side of the room. Since the beam was several millimeters in diameter, the pinhole blocks most of the beam's light. After passing through this pinhole, the remaining light
A) converges together rapidly to form an image of the laser on the projection screen.
B) forms an extremely narrow beam that illuminates only a tiny spot on the projection screen-a spot the same diameter as the pinhole.
C) changes frequency and color because it experiences destructive interference inside the pinhole.
D) spreads relatively rapidly so that it forms a rather large spot on the projection screen.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When light passes through a small aperture like a pinhole, it exhibits diffraction, which causes the light to spread out rather than staying in a narrow beam. This results in a larger spot on the projection screen than the original size of the pinhole.

A Bright Beam of Light from a Laser Passes Through