Diffraction

Definition: A behavior characteristic of all waves; the phenomenon wherein waves change their direction/bend around sharp corners, or spread out after traveling through narrow apertures. The aperture width must be on the same order of magnitude of the wavelength for diffraction to occur. Diffraction is used in optical spectrometers to separate light into its component wavelengths and to measure the associated light for each wavelength.

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References:

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-44146-3_7

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