THE BRAINS BEHIND DISCOVERING DIFFRACTION
Italian scientist Francesco Maria Grimaldi originated the word "diffraction".He was the first to record accurate observations of the phenomenon(diffraction) in the year 1665.
DEFINITON
Diffraction occurs when light(beam/ray of light) or other system of waves such as (water waves, sound, electromagnetic waves ( electromagnetic radiation), and small moving particles such as atoms, neutrons, and electrons, which show wavelike properties) passes sharp edges or goes through narrow slits(aperture), the rays are deflected(spread out) and produce fringes of light and dark bands.
Diffraction of light
Diffraction effects are classified into either Fresnel or Fraunhofer types.
Fresnel diffraction is concerned mainly with what happens to light in the immediate neighborhood of a diffracting object or aperture, so is only of interest when the illumination source is close by.
Fraunhofer diffraction is the light-spreading effect of an aperture when the aperture (or object) is lit by plane waves, i.e., waves that effectively come from a source that is infinitely far away.
TERMS USED AND THEIR DEFINITIONS
- Aperture : Aperture is an optical terminology,it layman's term it is called different names such as an opening, hole, or gap.It often refers to an opening in which light is allowed to pass in optical systems such as cameras and lasers.Read more on aperture
- Waves
- Fringes
SCOPE OF DIFFIRACTION
APPLICATION OF DIFFRACTION
There are several applications of diffraction and these are somewhat evident in our daily contact with objects exhibiting diffraction or diffraction properities, without we noticing,or on the other hand noticing the object but not knowing the principle behind it or what made the object look or act like that.
Here are some of the applications of diffraction
- SCIENTIFIC APPLICATION
- DAY TO DAY APPLICATION
The effects of diffraction are usually seen in everyday life. One of the most evident examples of diffraction are those involving light; for example,when you take a keen look at a CD or DVD the closely spaced tracks on a CD or DVD act as a diffraction grating to form the familiar rainbow pattern. This principle can be extended to engineer a grating with a structure such that it will produce any diffraction pattern desired; the hologram on a credit card.