Central Maximum

What is Diffraction?

Bending of light around corners such that it spreads out and illuminates’ regions is known as diffraction....

Diffraction Examples

Examples of diffraction can easily be observed in our daily life, some of the most common ones are, the silver lining seen on the edges of the clouds because of the diffraction of light by water droplets....

Types of Diffraction

We can categorise diffraction into two categories that are,...

Single Slit Diffraction

We may see the bending phenomena of light, or diffraction, in the single-slit diffraction experiment, which causes light from a coherent source to interfere with itself and form a distinct pattern on the screen termed the diffraction pattern. When the sources are tiny enough to be comparable in size to the wavelength of light, diffraction occurs. This impact may be seen in the diagram below,...

Single Slit Diffraction Formula

Central Maximum

The maxima are located between the minima, and the width of the central maximum is equal to the distance between the 1st order minima on both sides of the screen....

Resolving Power

The resolving power of an optical instrument is defined as the capacity of the instrument to distinguish between two objects that are close together and produce distinct images of the two objects. In other words, resolving power changes in inverse proportion to the distance between the two objects to be resolved when viewed from an optical instrument. The images of two close-lying objects appear distinct and separate when viewed from the device. When a telescope is used to view two stars located close to each other; the telescope’s resolving power will depend on its capacity to resolve the images of the two stars. The resolving power of a lens used in a telescope can be determined by its ability to differentiate two lines or points in an object....

Rayleigh’s Criterion

The minimum distances between images must be such that the central maximum of the first image lies on the first minimum of the second and vice versa. Such an image viewed from an optical device is calculated using Rayleigh’s criterion....

What Is the Difference Between Diffraction and Scattering?

The terms diffraction and scattering are often used interchangeably and are considered to be almost synonymous. Diffraction describes a specialized case of light scattering in which an object with regularly repeating features (such as a diffraction grating) produces an orderly diffraction of light in a diffraction pattern. In the real world, most objects are very complex in shape and should be considered to be composed of many individual diffraction features that can collectively produce a random scattering of light....

Conclusion of Diffraction of Light

Light diffraction shows how light waves bend and spread when they come into contact with objects or squeeze through narrow spaces. This phenomena is important for many optical applications, such as developing sophisticated optical systems like diffraction gratings or producing rainbows. Knowing diffraction allows for the creation of cutting-edge spectroscopy, microscopy, and telecommunications technologies....

Diffraction of Light – FAQs

What is meant by the diffraction of light?...