All Questions
Tagged with optics diffraction
515
questions
24
votes
3
answers
20k
views
Squinting at street lights
Simple question, I've always wanted to know the answer to this.
Why do you see a pair of lines radiating out from street lights when you squint at them? I can't think of a better way to describe what ...
user5335
5
votes
2
answers
1k
views
Effect of a wavefront deformation on the far-field diffraction pattern of a TEM00
By performing Matlab simulations on a TEM00 mode (approximated by a gaussian intensity profile with a flat wavefront), I got the impression that applying wavefront deformations (such as a single ...
- 53
3
votes
1
answer
573
views
What's the mathematical background to the representation for Gaussian beams?
Background
A general optical system (not necessarily having an axis of
rotational symmetry) can be represented, for small deviations from a base ray,
by the matrix transfer equation,
$$
\left[\...
user7154
4
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Calculating Fraunhofer diffraction patterns
How does one calculate the Fraunhofer diffraction pattern for the following arrangement of slits:
|...|...........|...|
..a.....3a......a
(Four slits arranged linearly, spaced a distance a, 3a and ...
- 885
3
votes
1
answer
1k
views
Why is the diffraction pattern for an annular aperture the difference of the two Bessel functions?
Inspired by this question, the pattern for the annular intensity is given by the square of the difference of the two Bessel functions. I would have thought the sum was more appropriate, could someone ...
- 3,867