Image of the Week

$Optical phenomenon of Diffraction of Light$

Optical phenomenon of Diffraction of Light

The Image portrays the optical phenomenon of Diffraction of Light. When Light diffracts off small particles or circular aperture, we obtain diffraction pattern in the form of rings. It is used to determine the size of the particle by analyzing the pattern observed. Placing a spare mobile camera lens on top of the front camera of a phone,I added a drop of water on the camera lens.Then I shone a flash light at certain distance above the setup thus attaining a diffraction pattern.

—@swamesh80

03 Aug 2020

Optical-fiber diffuser

An optical-fiber diffuser, approximately 250 micron in diameter, shows the Goos-Hanchen effect, a consequence of frustrated total internal reflection.

—Doug Dykarr, DifTek Lasers, Inc.

27 Jul 2020

Laser-filament-induced modification

The bulk of a fused silica slab induced by laser filaments at different pulse energies.

—Anastasios D. Koulouklidis, UNIS lab-IESL/FORTH

20 Jul 2020

Birefringence

Stresses and stretching imprinted in the manufacture of plastic cutlery, as revealed by variations in birefringence. Defined as a material’s ability to change the polarization of light, birefringence depends on the local stresses in the material and the wavelength of light. By laying the cutlery on a computer screen and imaging through a linear polariser, these stresses thus can be seen. (Picture taken during an outreach event at the University of St. Andrews, U.K.)

—Morgan Facchin, University of St. Andrews

13 Jul 2020

Cuckoo Wasp

The contributor, Ulrike Schulz, reports: “I was sitting with my computer on my garden terrace in the city of Jena, Germany, as this little insect sat down on my arm. I put it on my finger and took the photograph with my iPhone 11. It’s such a nice example of perfect optics in nature!”The insect is a cuckoo wasp (Chrysis ignita), which, according to Schulz, can be found across the European continent. “It shows brilliant interference colors produced by well-defined nanostructures. The beautiful coloration changes with the angle of light incidence.”

—Ulrike Schulz, Fraunhofer, IOF

06 Jul 2020

Solar Eclipse 2020

The sun, reduced to a mere crescent by the shadow of the passing moon, near the peak of the annular eclipse of 21 June 2020. Photo taken in the Almora Hills, Uttarakhand, India.

—Nandan S. Bisht, Kumaun University, Nainital, India

29 Jun 2020

Cylindrical Grating

Conical diffraction of white light from a transmitting cylindrical grating.

—Svetlen H. Tonchev, MKS Instruments, Inc./Newport Corporation

22 Jun 2020

“Undersea Scene” in Glass

Total internal reflection, interference at cleavage planes and index inhomogeneity conspire to create an artificial underwater scene in this view internal of aquamarine slag glass.

—Samuel Pellicori, OSA Senior Member

15 Jun 2020

Glowing Filaments

Top-view of a filament lamp, captured in a darkened room while working from home during the COVID19 pandemic. The image was acquired using an iPhone 7 Plus. Mild post-capture contrast enhancement was used to highlight the bright features of the glowing filaments and their reflections off the lamp surface.

—Alok K. Pandey, Laboratoire de Physique des Gaz et des Plasmas, Université Paris-Saclay, France

08 Jun 2020

Colloidal Suspension

Green and red laser light impinging in a glass cell with a colloidal suspension.

—Argelia Balbuena Ortega, UNAM

01 Jun 2020

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