diffraction
noun
dif·frac·tion
| \ di-ˈfrak-shən
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Definition of diffraction
: a modification which light undergoes especially in passing by the edges of opaque bodies or through narrow openings and in which the rays appear to be deflected
also
: a similar modification of other waves (such as sound waves) or of moving particles (such as electrons)
Examples of diffraction in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Dense Bragg peaks have been seen before, in the diffraction patterns of quasicrystals, those strange materials discovered in the 1980s with symmetric but nonrepeating atomic arrangements. — Quanta Magazine, "A Chemist Shines Light on a Surprising Prime Number Pattern," 14 May 2018 Dense Bragg peaks have been seen before, in the diffraction patterns of quasicrystals, those strange materials discovered in the 1980s with symmetric but nonrepeating atomic arrangements. — Quanta Magazine, "A Chemist Shines Light on a Surprising Prime Number Pattern," 14 May 2018 Instead of exploiting the diffraction properties of glass, a metalens uses nanofins — tiny structures, typically made of titanium dioxide — to bend wavelengths toward the metalens focal point. — Rafi Letzter, NBC News, "'Metalens' breakthrough may bring a revolution in camera design," 3 Jan. 2018 It not only blocks the star directly, but also suppresses diffraction with an elaborate petaled edge. — Daniel Clery, Science | AAAS, "Earth-sized alien worlds are out there. Now, astronomers are figuring out how to detect life on them," 1 Nov. 2017 That allows the molecular details of a sample to be probed every few nanoseconds using X-ray diffraction. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Conditions like those inside Neptune cause diamond formation," 27 Aug. 2017 But diffraction of the incoming light makes the pictures imperfect. — Jeffrey Kluger, Time, "How the Solar Eclipse Could Help Us Solve a Mystery About the Sun," 19 Aug. 2017 The top image shows the visible diffraction pattern; the bottom shows extra light in the infrared. — Lisa Grossman, WIRED, "DIY Laser Safety: How to Test Pointers and Save Your Eyes," 16 Aug. 2010 By chance, in another set of images, the background star ended up right in the middle of a diffraction artifact. — John Timmer, Ars Technica, "Einstein still annoyingly right as researchers weigh white dwarf," 8 June 2017These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'diffraction.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for diffraction
diffraction
noun
dif·frac·tion
| \ dif-ˈrak-shən
\
\
Medical Definition of diffraction
: a modification which light undergoes in passing by the edges of opaque bodies or through narrow slits or in being reflected from ruled surfaces and in which the rays appear to be deflected and to produce fringes of parallel light and dark or colored bands
also
: a similar modification of other waves (as sound waves)