I learned in October 2022’s Breakthrough that the spikes of stars in high-power photos are called diffraction spikes. Why do they appear as two crosses at 45 degrees to each other? The diffraction ...

We explore double and single slit example problems involving light and sound waves. In this Closer Look segment on Diffraction and Interference, we explore double and single slit example problems ...

Our understanding of how light behaves has grown with the surprising discovery that colors can be seen in a new way; an example of a process called scattering, the effect occurs in some materials when ...

The basics of digital logic are pretty easy to master, and figuring out how the ones and zeroes flow through various kinds of gates is often an interesting exercise. Taking things down a level and ...

pt. I. Geometrical optics. Light rays -- Plane surfaces -- Spherical surfaces -- Thin lenses -- Thick lenses -- Spherical mirrors -- The effects of stops -- Ray ...