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Re: Why called diffraction?



At 06:21 PM 4/22/2003 -0600, you wrote:
We were talking about X-ray diffraction from crystal lattices in class
yesterday. The interference that shows the maxima comes from reflection
from the different planes if I read / understand correctly. So one of my
bright students asks "why" is it called diffraction? Thin film
interference is not called diffraction and yet it is interference due to
reflections.

I had no answer. Why is it called diffraction? Or is my understanding of
the process flawed?

Thanks

Ken Fox


I'll take a shot at this one:

the central idea of diffraction is the bending of a beam through an
aperture, or
in passing a line feature, with selective reinforcement and cancelation of
the beam.

Refraction is the change in direction of a wavefront passing obliquely through
a medium of graded or discontinuous propagation speed.

Reflection is the abrupt change in direction of a wavefront at a well defined
smooth surface between materials of discontinuous propagation speeds.


Considering x ray diffraction, the wavelength is similar to the lattice spacing
and the beam is bent with contributions from multiple surfaces in the crystal.

Brian Whatcott Altus OK