Etymology:
Meaning:
1. Physics * To scatter or redirect waves of light, sound, or other types of energy as they pass through an aperture or around an obstacle.
2. Optics * To separate light into its component colors by refraction and reflection.
Origin:
The term "diffract" comes from the Latin word "diffrangere," meaning "to break across" or "to shatter." This refers to the way that waves of energy are scattered or redirected when they encounter an obstacle or pass through an aperture. The prefixes "di-" and "dis-" both mean "apart" or "asunder," while the verb "frangere" means "to break."
In the 17th century, the term "diffraction" began to be used in optics to describe the way that light is separated into its component colors when it passes through a prism or other optical device. This phenomenon was first observed by Sir Isaac Newton in 1666.
The concept of diffraction has since been extended to other fields of physics, such as acoustics, electromagnetism, and fluid dynamics. In these fields, diffraction refers to the scattering or redirection of waves as they encounter obstacles or pass through apertures.
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