Bryn McKay

 Interference occurs when one or more wave are superimposed  Diffraction occurs whenever a wave encounters an object

Large ApertureSmall Aperture

 Parallel light rays diverge and interfere with one another when passing through a aperture  Factors to this diffraction include:  The size of the aperture  The wavelength of light

 Rays traveling at different distances interfere with one another  Sometimes they completely cancel each other

 Diffraction is the slight bending of light as it passes around the edge of an object  A larger aperture with a smaller wave length the bending is unnoticeable.  When the two are closer in size the bend is noticeable to the naked eye

 In the atmosphere  Light bends around atmospheric particles  Diffracted light can produce fringes of light, dark or colored bands  Light waves are similar to the water  When sunlight comes in contact with cloud droplets  Light waves are altered and interact with one another

 Diffraction grating is a structure with a repeating pattern

 Efficiency  Blaze Wavelength  Wavelength Range  Stray Light  Resolving Power

 Made by superimposing two waves from the same light source  Two beams  The reference beam hits the photographic plate normally  The object beam hits the plate at an angle  The relative phase between the two beams varies across the photographic plate  The two beams interfere with one another to form an interference pattern  The relative phase of object and reference beam is encoded as the maxima and minima of the fringe pattern

 The fringe pattern acts as a diffraction grating  It is partly diffracted  The object beam has been reconstructed  The diffraction grating created by the two waves interfering has reconstructed the object beam  This is a hologram

 Diffraction-the bending of waves around obstacles in their path  Aperture- an opening, as a hole, slit, crack, etc.  Resolving Power- the ability of an optical instrument to form separate images of two objects that are close together  Superimposing-to place, or set over, above, or on something else-to put or join as an addition  Fringe Pattern-one of the alternate light and dark bands produced by diffraction or interference  Reconstructed- Recreate or make again