Question:
If sunlight shines straight onto a peacock feather, the feather appears blue when viewed from 24 degrees on either side of the incident beam of sunlight. The blue color is due to diffraction from the melanin bands in the feather barbules. Blue light with a wavelength of 471 nm is diffracted at 24 degrees by these bands (this is the first-order diffraction) while other wavelengths in the sunlight are diffracted at different angles. What is the spacing of the melanin bands in the feather?
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