In practice, this optical phenomenon causes laser beams to become less focused over long distances. For 10 points each:
[10e] Name this phenomenon in which light spreads out as it travels through a gap.
ANSWER: diffraction [or word forms such as diffracting]
[10m] The diffraction of laser light through a circular hole creates one of the "disks" named after this British scientist, which lie at the center of the diffraction pattern. This scientist's namesake function is a solution of the differential equation d squared y d x squared minus xy equals 0.
ANSWER: George Biddell Airy [or Airy disks; or Airy function]
[10h] Laser diffraction analysis, which uses the diffraction of laser light to measure particles, is often explained using this theory, which models light's interactions with spherical particles whose size is similar to the light's wavelength.
ANSWER: Mie ("me") scattering theory [or Lorenz-Mie scattering]
<Joseph Krol , Science - Physics - Optics>