Two become one: various diffraction patterns showing Rayleigh's criterion. (Credit: Wikimedia Commons/Spencer Blevin) Scientists have long believed that diffraction limits the minimum distance that ...

What is the Diffraction Limit? The diffraction limit is a fundamental ... is determined by the ability to distinguish two closely spaced Airy disks. The Rayleigh criterion is a commonly used criterion ...

The resolution of an optical system (like a telescope or a camera) is limited by the so-called Rayleigh criterion ... due to the wave nature of light, diffraction occurs, caused by the limiting ...