Skip to content

diffract

verb

  1. bend light waves
L31769 on Wikidata ↗

Wiktionary

Pronunciation: /dɪˈfɹækt/ / /dəˈfɹækt/

verb

Etymology: From Latin diffractus (“past participle of diffringo (“to shatter, to break into pieces”)”).

  1. To cause diffraction

    Dave frowned as he tried to answer. "Well, I suppose the atmosphere is oxygen and nitrogen, mostly; then there's the ionosphere and the ozone layer. As I remember, the color of the sky is due to the scattering of light—light rays being diffracted in the air."

  2. To undergo diffraction