diffraction grating

American  

noun

Physics.

1. a band of equidistant, parallel lines, usually more than 5000 per inch (2000 per centimeter), ruled on a glass or polished metal surface for diffracting light to produce optical spectra.

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diffraction grating British  

noun

1. a glass plate or a mirror with a large number of equidistant parallel lines or grooves on its surface. It causes diffraction of transmitted or reflected light, ultraviolet radiation, or X-rays

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diffraction grating Scientific  

1. A polished surface, often of glass or metal, having many fine parallel stripes or slits through which radiation such as light is passed and projected onto a screen or other detection device. The interference patterns cast by the diffraction grating on the screen or detector can be analyzed to determine the frequency of the radiation.

2. See also interferometer

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Etymology

Origin of diffraction grating

First recorded in 1865–70

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

diffraction grating

Light from the galaxy passes through a prism or reflects off a diffraction grating in a telescope, which captures the intensity of light from blue to red.

From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2025

"However, deflecting light by diffraction grating allows much more precise control of the laser light compared to deflection in the Earth's atmosphere," says Schrödel.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 3, 2023

If a glass prism disperses white light to the right into a rainbow, how does the sequence of colors compare with that produced on the right by a diffraction grating?

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

What is the maximum number of lines per centimeter a diffraction grating can have and produce a complete first- order spectrum for visible light?

From Textbooks ● Aug. 12, 2015

The first real clue to the nature of Venus came from work with a prism made of glass or a flat surface, called a diffraction grating, covered with fine, regularly spaced, ruled lines.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan