diffractionn.
/dᵻˈfrakʃn/, U.S. /dəˈfrækʃən/ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > breaking into pieces or shattering
shiveringc1400
truncheoning1477
upbreaking1493
confraction?1541
refraction1578
splinting1598
diffraction1654
hatchet work1697
shattering1748
exploding1791
smash1808
explosion1811
splintering1815
blasting1824
shatterment1841
scatteration1880
smashing1886
1654 W. Charleton Physiologia Epicuro-Gassendo-Charltoniana iii. xiv. 330 They suffer such a Diffraction or Solution of Continuity in their superficial parts, as that the dissociated particles are not able to restore themselves to their former situation and mutual cohæsion.
1825 S. T. Coleridge Aids Refl. 346 There being..no facts in proof of the contrary, that would not prove equally well the cessation of the eye on the removal or diffraction of the Eye-glass.
1869 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 37 260 The meteorites of Pultusk cannot be considered to be the results of the diffraction of one single cosmical body.
2.
a. Optics. The process by which a beam of light is spread out or bent after passing through a slit or across the edge of an opaque body, typically accompanied by interference of the waveforms that result.The results are noticeable when the size of the slit or the opaque body is comparable to the wavelength of the light. White light gives a set of coloured fringes; monochromatic light gives a set of light and dark bands (light where waves coincide, dark where none arrive).This phenomenon was formerly called inflection or deflection: see inflection n. 2, deflection n. 5.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > diffraction > [noun]
diffraction1672
deflectiona1703
inflection1704
interference1830
Fraunhofer diffraction1888
Fresnel diffraction1905
1672 Philos. Trans. 1671 (Royal Soc.) 6 3068 Light is propagated..also by diffraction..when the parts of Light, separated by a manifold dissection, do in the same medium proceed in different ways.
1739 E. Carter tr. F. Algarotti Sir I. Newton's Philos. Explain'd II. 233 Light..is turned out of its direct Path and curved by Diffraction.
1803 T. Young in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 94 13 The observations on the effects of diffraction and interference.
1855 H. Spencer Princ. Psychol. ii. x. 192 Only on the theory of undulations can..diffraction..be accounted for.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xxii. 154 All the hues produced by diffraction were exhibited in the utmost splendour.
1941 R. Headstrom Adventures with Microscope lii. 203 The brilliant iridescent hues of many butterfly scales are due to the diffraction of light by fine, closely parallel striæ.
2005 Digital Photographer No. 31. 109/2 The maximum aperture is f38, though given the problems usually associated with diffraction it's hard to see why anyone would want to stop down that far.
b. Physics. An analogous phenomenon occurring when waves of any kind (including particles considered in terms of their wavelike properties) are spread out as a result of passing through a slit or across the edge of an obstacle.Fraunhofer diffraction, Fresnel diffraction, electron diffraction, neutron diffraction, powder diffraction, X-ray diffraction: see the first element.
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1823 Ann. Philos. New Ser. 5 90 The phenomena of diffraction regarding only the form of the surfaces..are by the conformation of the organs of hearing, not of any consequence to the perception of sound.
1842 Athenæum 5 Nov. 957/2 Papers were read ‘On the Diffraction of Sound’, by M. Cauchy.
1913 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 89 257 The assumption of diffraction [of X-rays] by the face-centred space lattice does not completely account for the pattern.
1950 S. Glasstone Sourcebk. Atomic Energy xi. 287 One of the most striking arguments for the wave-particle duality of matter..has been provided by the diffraction of neutrons.
2010 Nature 23 Sept. 409/1 This device bends X-rays by diffraction—rather than refraction—to make a lens.
Compounds
C1. General attributive (in sense 2), as diffraction data, diffraction experiment, etc.
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1841 Ann. Electr., Magnetism, & Chem. 7 272 I had employed fine metallic wire-gauze as a diffraction-screen.
1873 J. Tyndall Six Lect. on Light ii. 91 The street-lamps..looked at through the meshes of a handkerchief, show diffraction phenomena.
1925 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 11 490 Its algebraic sign is not determined by the diffraction data.
1954 D. J. Hughes Neutron Optics ii. 36 Neutron fluxes..are available in beams sufficiently well-collimated for diffraction experiments.
1974 V. B. Mountcastle et al. Med. Physiol. (ed. 13) I. xiv. 455/2 When the pupil of the eye is small, the spread of the focused image of a point..is entirely that given by diffraction theory.
2012 Current Appl. Physics 12 1231/1 As the Er concentration rose, the diffraction peaks of TiO2 were reported to be broader and weaker.
C2.
diffraction band n. a band produced by diffraction; esp. one of the light bands produced by the diffraction of monochromatic light.
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1841 Rep. 10th Meeting Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1840 Reports 141 Diffraction bands will, therefore, expand in the direction in which the particles are apparently compressed.
1909 B. W. Snow Notes on Physics 730 (caption) Production of the first bright diffraction band bordering the edge of a shadow.
2009 R. Wayne Light & Video Microsc. iii. 47/1 The greater the distance [from the object to the screen], the easier it is to distinguish a greater number of diffraction bands.
diffraction fringe n. a diffraction pattern at a boundary between light and shadow; esp. a coloured fringe produced by the diffraction of white light.
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1847 Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 1845–7 7 178 The diffraction fringes are seen perfectly with the eye lens.
1923 Science 23 Mar. 354/2 He described the great practical difficulties that were incurred in applying the method of diffraction fringes.
2006 Y. B. Band Light & Matter (2007) i. 60/2 The shadow of the object is accompanied by diffraction fringes.
diffraction grating n. a plate (typically of glass or polished metal) ruled or ridged with very close equidistant parallel lines, which produces a spectrum by the diffraction of light passing through or reflected by it.
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1857 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 13 125 We take a diffraction grating with parallel slits, which, for the sake of shortness of expression, I will assume shall stand vertical.
1890 C. A. Young Elem. Astron. vi. §193 The essential part of the apparatus [sc. a spectroscope] is either a prism or train of prisms, or else a diffraction ‘grating’.
2007 G. Andersen Telescope vi. 74 Astronomers prefer to use diffraction gratings to get a wide spread in wavelengths.
diffraction limit n. a limit to the resolving power of an optical instrument owing to the effects of diffraction in the instrument.The limit is improved and a better resolution is achieved if the wavelength of the light is decreased or the size of the aperture is increased.
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1944 Nature 12 Feb. 195/2 This is true even for quite small facets, and, of course, far exceeds the Rayleigh diffraction limit of the goniometer.
1975 B. V. Barlow Astron. Telescope iv. 68 The overall effect is to produce not a single star image of definite diameter which is limited only by the diffraction limit of the telescope aperture, but a whole swarm of images.
2011 Nature 17 Mar. 293/1 Materials with negative refraction can, in theory, make a perfect lens that beats the diffraction limit.
diffraction pattern n. a pattern formed as a result of diffraction.Such patterns can be useful in deriving information about the source of the diffraction, such as a crystal.
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1856 Trans. Cambr. Philos. Soc. 9 2 In this way we are able to calculate the relative intensities at different points of a diffraction pattern.
1987 L. Sawyer & D. T. Grubb Polymer Microsc. iii. 48/1 An unoriented amorphous material will give a diffraction pattern consisting of a few broad rings.
2002 New Scientist 9 Feb. 94/1 (advt.) Interpretation of diffraction patterns obtained from nanobeams and their offline analysis..are important elements of this post.
diffraction spectrum n. a spectrum produced by diffraction.A diffraction spectrum can take various forms, such as bands or fringes of light, or a two-dimensional array of dots or short lines. When used for analysis it may be represented as a graph with peaks corresponding to the angular distribution of the diffracted radiation.
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1841 Rep. 10th Meeting Brit. Assoc. Advancem. Sci. 1840 Reports 134 Fraunhofer..ascribes the horizontal circle to the superposition of diffraction-spectra.
1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xix. 215 Diffraction-spectra are produced by transmitting or reflecting light at a surface.
2011 J. B. Kaler Stars & their spectra ii. 63 You can easily see diffraction spectra by holding a compact disk..up to the light.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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