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Diffraction

Science
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

The bending and spreading of waves around edges or through openings. It can produce patterns of light, sound, or water.

Detailed Definition
Diffraction occurs when a wave encounters an obstacle, a narrow gap, or a boundary that changes its path. Light passing through a slit may spread into bright and dark bands, while sound can bend around a corner. Poets can use diffraction to imagine experience as something that refuses to travel straight: memory breaks into patterns, a voice reaches beyond a wall, or grief enters through the smallest opening. The term gives form to beauty created by interruption.
Example
Example in poetry:
“Through the rain, diffraction spread the streetlamp into a trembling halo,” uses the bending and spreading of light around small obstacles; A poem about sound can describe diffraction: “The bell’s note bent around the stone wall and found us”; “At the edge of the feather, light broke into colors by diffraction,” turns an optical effect into close observation; A poet might use diffraction as metaphor: “Grief diffracted one clear memory into many wavering lights.”
Additional Notes
Diffraction occurs when waves spread around edges or through gaps. It offers a useful image for sound, light, or feeling altered by obstacles.
Also Known As
Wave Bending
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