What it shows: The wave nature of light limits our ability to see the very small. Application of the Rayleigh limit of resolution tells us that the size of the smallest objects one can resolve under a microscope is approximately equal to the wavelength...
A telescope (with video output) at the front of the lecture hall is focused on two point light sources at the rear of the hall. Although the light sources are only 1/2 mm apart, they are readily resolved. The Rayleigh limit of resolution can...
The criterion for the resolution of two sources is that the central maximum of the single slit interference pattern of one source falls on the first minimum of the pattern of the second source.
