monochromatic

(adjective)

Describes a beam of light with a single wavelength (i.e., of one specific color or frequency).

Related Terms

Examples of monochromatic in the following topics:

  • Lasers

    • A laser is a device that emits monochromatic light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of photons.
    • A laser is a device that emits monochromatic light (electromagnetic radiation).
    • A material with many atoms in an excited state may thus result in radiation that is very monochromatic, but the individual photons would have no common phase relationship and would emanate in random directions.

  • The Michelson Interferometer

    • Colored and monochromatic fringes in a Michelson interferometer: (a) White light fringes where the two beams differ in the number of phase inversions; (b) White light fringes where the two beams have experienced the same number of phase inversions; and (c) Fringe pattern using monochromatic light (sodium D lines).

  • Stokes Parameters

    • The four Stokes parameters satisfy the following relationship for a truly monochromatic wave

  • Young's Double Slit Experiment

    • The example in uses two coherent light sources of a single monochromatic wavelength for simplicity.
    • It should be noted that this example uses a single, monochromatic wavelength, which is not common in real life; a more practical example is shown in .

  • The Rayleigh Criterion

    • (a) Monochromatic light passed through a small circular aperture produces this diffraction pattern.

  • Newton's Rings

    • When viewed with monochromatic light, Newton's rings appear as alternating bright and dark rings; when viewed with white light, a concentric ring pattern of rainbow colors is observed.

  • Aberrations

    • This can eventually cause a monochromatic image to distort vertically or horizontally.

  • Water Waves

    • In the case of monochromatic linear plane waves in deep water, particles near the surface move in circular paths, creating a combination of longitudinal (back and forth) and transverse (up and down) wave motions.

  • Single Slit Diffraction

    • To examine this effect better, lets consider a single monochromatic wavelength.