diffraction grating (redirected from diffraction gratings)

diffraction grating

n.

A usually glass or polished metal surface having a large number of very fine parallel grooves or slits and used to produce optical spectra by diffraction of reflected or transmitted light.

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diffraction grating

A barrier consisting of alternately transparent and opaque stripes, through which radiation such as light is passed and projected onto a screen or other detection device. The interference patterns cast by the diffraction grating on the screen or detector can be analyzed to determine the frequency of the radiation. See also interferometer.

Thesaurus

Noun

1.

diffraction grating - optical device consisting of a surface with many parallel grooves in it; disperses a beam of light (or other electromagnetic radiation) into its wavelengths to produce its spectrum grating echelon - a diffraction grating consisting of a pile of plates of equal thickness arranged stepwise with a constant offset optical device - a device for producing or controlling light