Diffraction Grating - Fringe Spacing and Maximum Number of Orders
How to calculate angles of diffraction and limit of observable orders
From nλ = d sin(θ), the angle θ increases with higher n values (orders). There is a maximum
order visible depending on the grating spacing and wavelength.
Maximum order (n) is found by setting sin(θ) = 1: n = d / λ (rounded down to nearest whole
number)
This shows how many bright fringes can fit within 90° on either side. Diffraction gratings
allow high-resolution analysis and are key in spectroscopy.