Does diffraction pattern depend on refractive index of a medium? Does the transmitting media influence on difraction the phenomenon or is it caused by light and the edge alone? Is a diffraction pattern will be identical in air an in water?
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Yes, diffraction does depend on the refractive index of a medium.
The invariant property of a light source is its frequency, and the wavelength this light takes in a given medium will change with the medium's refractive index. Diffraction is a spatial interference phenomenon, which means that the locations where the diffraction pattern's maxima and minima appear are determined by the geometries where a certain number of wavelengths add up (or don't).
Thus, in general, working in a medium with refractive index $n$, as far as diffraction goes, is equivalent to working with a wavelength that is $n$ times shorter.
answered Nov 4, 2019 at 23:50
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$\begingroup$ Does it mean that if I see a difraction maxima at length X in air, then in water it will be close? $\endgroup$ Commented Nov 5, 2019 at 9:21
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$\begingroup$ @user1615266 good question I’m curious about that too. If you set up two identical single slit experiments, one in air and one in water, which one has wider fringe spacing? How do you change the single slit equation from air to water? $\endgroup$ Commented Apr 3, 2022 at 1:36