A laser pointer shining on a diffraction grating or CD creates a series of diffraction spots depending on the spacing of the lines or pits in the grating or CD and the wavelength emitted by the laser.

Shimadzu diffraction gratings are used in analytical instruments for research in the life sciences, chemistry, environmental monitoring, as well as synchrotron radiation and optical communications ...

What happens when a wave passes through some opening? It diffracts - or you like, you could say "bends". If the size of the opening is comparable to the wavelength of the wave, the bending can be ...

Diffraction gratings are curious things. Score a series of equally spaced tiny lines in a surface, and it will cause reflected or transmitted light to bend and separate into its component wavelengths.

One of the coolest things about physics is that the same basic concept can pop up in several seemingly unrelated things: say, a CD, the seed shrimp’s antennae, certain fossils in the Burgess shale, ...