Diffraction Grating

Definition

A diffraction grating is a device that consists of a large number of equally spaced parallel slits or lines, which can diffract light into its component wavelengths.

Related terms

Interference:

The phenomenon that occurs when two or more waves overlap and either reinforce or cancel each other out.

Wavelength:

The distance between two consecutive points in a wave that are in phase with each other.

Spectrometer: An instrument that uses a diffraction grating to separate and measure the wavelengths of light.