Unformatted text preview: falls at the position of the first dark fringe for the second diffraction pattern. This is known as the Rayleigh criterion. Once the two central peaks start to overlap, in other words, the two objects look like one. The size of the central peak in the diffraction pattern depends on the size of the aperture (the opening you look through). For your eye, this is your pupil. A telescope, or even a camera, has a much larger aperture, and therefore more resolving power. The minimum angular separation is given by: The factor of 1.22 applies to circular apertures like your pupil, a telescope, or a camera lens. The closer you are to two objects, the greater the angular separation between them. Up close, then, two objects are easily resolved. As you get further from the objects, however, they will eventually merge to become one....
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- Fall '10
- DavidJudd
- Physics, Power, Diffraction pattern, angular resolution, F-number, far-away objects, single merged image
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