DIFFRACTION - 4 definitions found
diffraction n 1: when light passes sharp edges or goes through narrow slits the rays are deflected and produce fringes of light and dark bands Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary, 11th Edition (2003) diffraction noun Etymology: New Latin diffraction-, diffractio, from Latin diffringere to break apart, from dis- + frangere to break — more at break Date: 1671 a modification which light undergoes especially in passing by the edges of opaque bodies or through narrow openings and in which the rays appear to be deflected; also a similar modification of other waves (as sound waves) or of moving particles (as electrons) Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) Diffraction \Dif*frac"tion\, n. [Cf. F. diffraction.] (Opt.) The deflection and decomposition of light in passing by the edges of opaque bodies or through narrow slits, causing the appearance of parallel bands or fringes of prismatic colors, as by the action of a grating of fine lines or bars. Remarked by Grimaldi (1665), and referred by him to a property of light which he called diffraction. --Whewell. Diffraction grating. (Optics) See under Grating. Diffraction spectrum. (Optics) See under Spectrum. Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 76 Moby Thesaurus words for "diffraction": amplitude, antinode, attenuation, broadcast, broadcasting, circumfusion, crest, de Broglie wave, deflection, deflexure, diffusion, dilution, dispensation, dispersal, dispersion, dissemination, dissipation, distortion, distribution, divergence, electromagnetic radiation, electromagnetic wave, evaporation, expansion, flection, flexure, fragmentation, frequency, frequency band, frequency spectrum, guided wave, in phase, interference, light, longitudinal wave, mechanical wave, node, out of phase, peppering, period, periodic wave, propagation, publication, radiation, radio wave, ray, refraction, reinforcement, resonance, resonance frequency, scatter, scattering, scatterment, seismic wave, shock wave, shotgun pattern, skewness, sound wave, sowing, spattering, splay, spread, spreading, sprinkling, strewing, surface wave, tidal wave, torsion, transverse wave, trough, volatilization, wave, wave equation, wave motion, wave number, wavelength |
|
