Bending of Radiation (such as Light) around the edge of an obstacle or by a narrow aperture. Diffraction results
from the Interference of light Waves that pass an opaque body, producing a fuzzy region between the shadow area
and the lighted area that, upon close examination, is actually a series of light
and dark lines. A diffraction grating contains many fine, parallel (see Parallel Lines) slits or scratches (about 12,000 per cm or 30,000 per in.) and disperses
light into its Colors. These gratings are used in diffracting Spectroscopes. The Atomic and molecular (see Molecule) structure of Crystals is examined by X-Ray diffraction.