diffraction pattern
Britishnoun
-
The interference pattern that results when a wave or a series of waves undergoes diffraction, as when passed through a diffraction grating or the lattices of a crystal. The pattern provides information about the frequency of the wave and the structure of the material causing the diffraction.
-
See also interferometer
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
One PSF basically describes how an infinitely small point source of light originating in the sample is widened and spread into a three-dimensional diffraction pattern by the optical system.
From Science Daily • Nov. 19, 2024
"A typical diffraction pattern would produce evenly spaced fringes if we just had a neutron star as a shield," the KU researcher said.
From Science Daily • Nov. 18, 2024
The primary mirror shape creates a six-pointed diffraction pattern for sufficiently bright sources: each “spike” in this pattern stretches toward one of the points of a hexagon.
From Scientific American • Jul. 21, 2022
The resulting diffraction pattern contains bright spots, corresponding to waves that interfere constructively; and dark spots, coming from waves that interfere destructively.
From Nature • Sep. 24, 2019
Then, however, my main concern was her description of the crystalline X-ray diffraction pattern.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
![]()
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.