The formula to calculate the Diffraction Limit (DL) is:
\[ \text{DL} = 1.22 \times \frac{w}{d} \]
Where:
A diffraction limit is the minimum angular separation that a telescope or microscope can distinguish between. It is a measure of the maximum limit of resolution seen by a telescope.
The diffraction limit is important because it defines the limit of the resolving power of a telescope. Decreasing the diffraction limit allows a telescope to distinguish between objects that are very far away but relatively close together.
A diffraction-limited aperture is an aperture whose performance is capped by the size of the aperture. It has reached its maximum resolution for its current size.
Let's consider an example:
Using the formula to calculate the Diffraction Limit:
\[ \text{DL} = 1.22 \times \frac{0.00055}{10} = 0.0000671 \, \text{radians} \]
This demonstrates that with a wavelength of 0.00055 cm and a telescope diameter of 10 cm, the diffraction limit would be approximately 0.0000671 radians.
