Diffraction of Light

Practice flashcards based on key terms and definitions related to the diffraction of light.

Huygens-Fresnel Principle

States that every unobstructed point of a wavefront serves as a source of spherical secondary wavelets.

Fraunhofer Diffraction

A type of far-field diffraction pattern observed when light passes through a single slit and is recorded on a screen placed far away.

Fresnel Diffraction

A type of near-field diffraction that occurs when the size of the aperture is comparable to the wavelength of light.

Single-slit diffraction

The pattern of light intensity observed when monochromatic light passes through a single narrow slit.

Sinc function

A mathematical function defined as sinc(x) = sin(x)/x, often used in diffraction theory.

Diffraction Grating

An optical component with a periodic structure that splits and diffracts light into several beams.

Coherence

The property of a light source in which the light waves maintain a constant phase relationship.

Polarization

The orientation of the oscillations in a light wave, typically defined with respect to some spatial reference frame.

Wavefront

An imaginary surface representing points of a wave that oscillate in phase.

Amplitude

The maximum extent of a wave's oscillation, indicating the energy carried by the wave.

Optical Field

The electric field associated with an electromagnetic wave, often visualized as varying in amplitude and phase.

Huygens-Fresnel Principle

States that every unobstructed point of a wavefront serves as a source of spherical secondary wavelets.

Fraunhofer Diffraction

A type of far-field diffraction pattern observed when light passes through a single slit and is recorded on a screen placed far away.

Fresnel Diffraction

A type of near-field diffraction that occurs when the size of the aperture is comparable to the wavelength of light.

Single-slit diffraction

The pattern of light intensity observed when monochromatic light passes through a single narrow slit.

Sinc function

A mathematical function defined as sinc(x) = sin(x)/x, often used in diffraction theory.

Diffraction Grating

An optical component with a periodic structure that splits and diffracts light into several beams.

Coherence

The property of a light source in which the light waves maintain a constant phase relationship.

Polarization

The orientation of the oscillations in a light wave, typically defined with respect to some spatial reference frame.

Wavefront

An imaginary surface representing points of a wave that oscillate in phase.

Amplitude

The maximum extent of a wave's oscillation, indicating the energy carried by the wave.

Optical Field

The electric field associated with an electromagnetic wave, often visualized as varying in amplitude and phase.

Wavelength

The spatial period of a periodic wave, which is the distance over which the wave's shape repeats.

Frequency

The number of cycles of a wave that pass a given point per unit time, often measured in Hertz (Hz).

Phase Difference

The difference in phase between two waves or between two points on the same wave.

Interference

The phenomenon that occurs when two or more waves superpose to form a resultant wave of greater, lower, or the same amplitude.

Young's Double-Slit Experiment

An experiment demonstrating the wave nature of light, showing an interference pattern when light passes through two narrow slits.