diffract

American  

[dih-frakt] / dɪˈfrækt /

verb (used with object)

1. to break up or bend by diffraction.

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diffract British  

/ dɪˈfrækt /

verb

1. to undergo or cause to undergo diffraction

   to diffract light

   the light diffracts at a slit

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Other Word Forms

• diffractive adjective
• diffractively adverb
• diffractiveness noun
• undiffracted adjective

Etymology

Origin of diffract

First recorded in 1795–1805; back formation from diffraction

Explanation

When light or sound waves bend as they pass obstacles, they diffract. Need proof that sound waves diffract? Just call out to your friend while you stand behind a big tree! If you take a physics class, you'll learn about energy that travels in waves, including sound, light, and water. These waves move, spreading out after they pass through small openings and bending around the objects in their path. In other words, they diffract. Sometimes on a foggy night you can see the moon's light diffract around water particles in the air, forming a bright, glowing ring.

Example Sentences

The problem with freezing biological samples is that ice crystals diffract the electron beam, blurring the image.

From Science Magazine • Oct. 4, 2017

When waves pass by an edge, they can diffract into the “shadow region” behind the edge.

From Textbooks • Aug. 12, 2015

Eight rows of comb plates, called ctenes, are made of giant compound cilia that diffract light, creating iridescence. c, Comb rows in Pleurobrachia are constantly beating.

From Nature • May 20, 2014

The Braggs are regarded as founders of X-ray crystallography; they analysed the way crystals scatter, or diffract, into patterns on photographic plates.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2013

By stringing the fiber along a gap in a stretch of wire—a bent paper clip worked marvelously—he hoped to diffract X-rays and obtain images.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee