In the figure above, illustrating the truncation of the incident spherical wave by the lens, we may note one very significant fact.
22.
That shape can for example be a spherical wave travelling in towards the centre of that sphere, or any other shape required.
23.
Therefore, the converging ( " partial " ) spherical wave shown in the figure above produces an Airy disc in the image plane.
24.
In this far-field case, truncation of the radiated spherical wave is equivalent to truncation of the plane wave spectrum of the small source.
25.
But the ripples on the water's surface are essentially a two-dimensional phenomenon, while the electron takes the form of a three-dimensional spherical wave.
26.
The plane waves may be viewed as the limiting case of spherical waves at a very large ( ideally infinite ) distance from the source.
27.
In quantum physics, the "'scattering amplitude "'is the amplitude of the outgoing spherical wave relative to the incoming plane wave in a stationary-state scattering process.
28.
To gain a better understanding of the nature of these spherical waves, let us go back and look at the case when l = 0.
29.
Aspects of the spherical waves that divert sideways are cancelled with the sideways components of the wave points on each respect point on either side.
30.
In traditional classical physics diffraction arises because of the way in which waves propagate; this is described by the Huygens Fresnel principle and the spherical wave.
