- "Diffraction is the interference or bending of waves around the corners of an obstacle or through an aperture into the region of geometrical shadow of the obstacle/aperture."
Study of the bending and spreading of light waves as they pass through small openings, around obstacles or near edges.
Wave theory of light: Explains the basic concept of light as a wave phenomenon.
Huygens' Principle: Describes how diffraction occurs based on the wavelets produced by an aperture.
Fresnel and Fraunhofer diffraction: The two types of diffraction patterns observed, based on the distance between the aperture and the observation screen.
Single-slit diffraction: The diffraction pattern observed when light passes through a narrow aperture or slit.
Multiple-slit diffraction: The diffraction pattern observed when light passes through multiple narrow apertures or slits.
Grating diffraction: The diffraction pattern observed when light passes through a periodic arrangement of slits or grooves.
Fraunhofer diffraction from a circular aperture: The diffraction pattern observed when light passes through a circular aperture.
Polarization: The orientation of the electric field of light and its effect on diffraction.
Interference: The interaction of waves that results in constructive or destructive interference and its effect on diffraction.
Fourier transform: A mathematical tool used to analyze the diffraction pattern and determine the distribution of energy in the diffracted light.
Bragg diffraction: Diffraction of x-rays by crystal lattices, providing useful information about the structure of materials.
Fresnel Diffraction: Fresnel diffraction is a phenomenon occurring when a wave encounters an obstacle or aperture, causing it to bend and spread, resulting in interference patterns.
Fraunhofer Diffraction: Fraunhofer diffraction refers to the observation of diffraction patterns produced by a parallel beam of light passing through slits or obstacles that are far away from the light source.
Bragg Diffraction: Bragg Diffraction refers to the scattering of X-rays or other waves by a crystal, where constructive interference occurs resulting in a clear pattern of diffracted waves that can be used to determine the crystal's structure.
Acoustic Diffraction: Acoustic diffraction refers to the bending and spreading of sound waves around obstacles or through small openings in a way that produces interference patterns.
X-ray Diffraction: X-ray diffraction is the scattering of X-rays by a regular arrangement of atoms in a solid, which provides information about the structure and properties of materials.
Electromagnetic Diffraction: Electromagnetic diffraction is the bending and spreading of electromagnetic waves when they encounter an obstacle or pass through an aperture, resulting in interference patterns and the alteration of wavefronts.
Elastic Scattering Diffraction: Elastic scattering diffraction refers to the phenomenon where particles undergo diffraction while remaining unchanged in kinetic energy and overall direction after interacting with a crystal lattice or obstacle.
Non-Elastic Scattering Diffraction: Non-elastic scattering diffraction refers to the phenomenon where incident particles interact with a sample, causing a change in their energy and direction, leading to the diffraction of particles that do not retain their original energy.
Neutron Diffraction: Neutron diffraction is a technique that utilizes the interference patterns produced by neutrons to study the atomic and magnetic structure of materials.
Electron Diffraction: Electron diffraction refers to the phenomenon where electrons behave as waves, leading to interference and diffraction patterns when passing through a narrow aperture or encountering a crystal lattice.
Light Diffraction: Light diffraction refers to the bending and spreading of light waves as they encounter obstacles or pass through narrow openings, resulting in the interference and pattern formation of the diffracted light.
Single Slit Diffraction: Single slit diffraction is the bending or spreading of light waves as they pass through a narrow slit, resulting in an interference pattern characterized by alternating bright and dark regions.
Double Slit Diffraction: Double slit diffraction refers to the phenomenon where light passing through two narrow slits creates an interference pattern characterized by alternating bright and dark fringes.
Multi-Slit Diffraction: Multi-slit diffraction refers to the phenomenon in which light passing through multiple parallel slits generates a complex pattern of interference and diffraction on a screen.
Circular Aperture Diffraction: Circular Aperture Diffraction refers to the phenomenon in which light passing through a circular opening or aperture causes interference patterns and bending of the light waves, resulting in the spreading and diffraction of the light.
Rectangular Aperture Diffraction: Rectangular Aperture Diffraction is the phenomenon of light bending and spreading out when passing through a rectangular opening, resulting in interference patterns and diffraction fringes.
Grating Diffraction: Grating diffraction is the phenomenon where light passing through a patterned grating exhibits interference and diffraction effects, resulting in the creation of a series of light and dark fringes.
Holographic Diffraction: Holographic diffraction involves the study and analysis of diffraction patterns produced by holograms, a method that utilizes interference of light waves to create three-dimensional images.
Apodized Aperture Diffraction.: Apodized Aperture Diffraction refers to the phenomenon where a diffraction pattern is modified by the use of an apodization function, which changes the intensity distribution and reduces certain unwanted effects such as sidelobes or ringing.
- "Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi coined the word diffraction and was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon in 1660."
- "In classical physics, the diffraction phenomenon is described by the Huygens–Fresnel principle that treats each point in a propagating wavefront as a collection of individual spherical wavelets."
- "The characteristic bending pattern is most pronounced when a wave from a coherent source (such as a laser) encounters a slit/aperture that is comparable in size to its wavelength."
- "This is due to the addition, or interference, of different points on the wavefront (or, equivalently, each wavelet) that travel by paths of different lengths to the registering surface."
- "If there are multiple, closely spaced openings (e.g., a diffraction grating), a complex pattern of varying intensity can result."
- "These effects also occur when a light wave travels through a medium with a varying refractive index, or when a sound wave travels through a medium with varying acoustic impedance – all waves diffract."
- "including gravitational waves, water waves, and other electromagnetic waves such as X-rays and radio waves."
- "Furthermore, quantum mechanics also demonstrates that matter possesses wave-like properties and, therefore, undergoes diffraction (which is measurable at subatomic to molecular levels)."
- "The amount of diffraction depends on the size of the gap."
- "Diffraction is greatest when the size of the gap is similar to the wavelength of the wave."
- "In this case, when the waves pass through the gap they become semi-circular."