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diffraction
8 dictionary results for: Diffraction
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This
dif·frac·tion 
[di-frak-shuhn] Pronunciation Key
[di-frak-shuhn] Pronunciation Key –noun Physics.
| 1. | the phenomenon exhibited by wave fronts that, passing the edge of an opaque body, are modulated, thereby causing a redistribution of energy within the front: it is detectable in light waves by the presence of a pattern of closely spaced dark and light bands (diffraction pattern) at the edge of a shadow. |
| 2. | the bending of waves, esp. sound and light waves, around obstacles in their path. |
Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.
American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| dif·frac·tion
(dĭ-frāk'shən) Pronunciation Key
n. Change in the directions and intensities of a group of waves after passing by an obstacle or through an aperture whose size is approximately the same as the wavelength of the waves. [New Latin diffrāctiō, diffrāctiōn-, from Latin diffrāctus, past participle of diffringere : dis-, apart; see dis- + frangere, to break; see bhreg- in Indo-European roots.] |
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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
diffraction
diffraction
1671, from Fr. diffraction, from Mod.L. diffractionem, from L. diffrac-, stem of diffringere "break in pieces," from dis- "apart" + frangere "to break" (see fraction).
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This
| diffraction | |
noun | |
| when light passes sharp edges or goes through narrow slits the rays are deflected and produce fringes of light and dark bands |
WordNet® 3.0, © 2006 by Princeton University.
The American Heritage Science Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
| diffraction
(dĭ-frāk'shən) Pronunciation Key
The bending and spreading of a wave, such as a light wave, around the edge of an object. See more at wave.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2002 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition - Cite This Source - Share This
diffraction
diffraction
The breaking up of an incoming wave by some sort of geometrical structure — for example, a series of slits — followed by reconstruction of the wave by interference. Diffraction of light is characterized by alternate bands of light and dark or bands of different colors.
The American Heritage® New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
American Heritage Stedman's Medical Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
diffraction dif·frac·tion (dĭ-frāk'shən)
n.
Change in the directions and intensities of a group of waves after passing by an obstacle or through an aperture.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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