hlockwood
Well-known
JS and John,
Don't worry. No one understands diffraction. A lot of people know how it works. No one knows why it's that way.
The observation of diffraction is the basis of the quantum mechanic's mystery of wave–particle duality. The camera sensor counts photons as if they are particles, and at the same time diffraction can occur which can only be explained by the wave nature of light. Every time someone takes a digital photograph with diffraction present, they are duplicating an experiment that forced people to acknowledge that Newtonian physics alone can not describe the measurable universe.
You raise an interesting point re duality. I hadn't thought of this before, but I wonder if Feynman's explanation of the dual slit experiment doesn't subsume diffraction. That is, if all paths to the screen are taken, with varying probabilities, does this explain the fuzzy edges that constitute diffraction even through a single aperture. That is, is duality necessary to understand diffraction?
I'm not aware of this question surfacing in the past.
Harry
Edit: Sorry, that's a bit off topic.
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