Diffraction of Light — Chapter Summary

Diffraction is the bending of light

Diffraction is the bending of light round the corners of obstacles or apertures. It occurs when the obstacle or aperture size is comparable to the wav

The intensity distribution on a screen

The intensity distribution on a screen due to light passing through an aperture is called the diffraction pattern.

Fraunhofer diffraction is observed when

Fraunhofer diffraction is observed when a plane wavefront is incident on the slit and the diffracted light is focussed onto a screen in the focal plan

The central bright band at point

The central bright band at point O is the principal maximum. It forms when wavelets from all parts of the slit travel in the same direction as the inc

The first minimum occurs when e

The first minimum occurs when e sin θ = λ, and the general condition is e sin θ = ± m λ, where m = 1, 2, 3, ... . The value m = 0 corresponds to the p