In`ter*fer"ence (?), n.
[See Interfere.]
1.
The act or state of
interfering; as, the stoppage of a
machine by the interference of some of its parts; a meddlesome interference in the business of others.
2. (Physics) The mutual influence, under certain conditions, of two streams of
light, or series of pulsations of sound, or,
generally, two waves or vibrations of any kind, producing certain characteristic phenomena, as colored fringes, dark bands, or darkness, in the case of light, silence or increased intensity in sounds; neutralization
or superposition of waves generally.
&fist; The term is most
commonly applied to light, and the undulatory theory of light affords the proper explanation of the phenomena which are considered to be produced by
the superposition of waves, and are thus substantially identical in their origin with the phenomena of heat, sound, waves of water, and the like.
3.
(Patent Law) The act or state of interfering, or of claiming a right to the
same invention.
Interference figures (Optics), the figures
observed when certain
sections of crystallized bodies are viewed in converging polarized light;
thus, a section of a
uniaxial crystal, cut normal to
the vertical axis, shows a series of concentric colored rings
with a single black cross; -- so called because produced by the interference of luminous waves. - -
Interference fringe. (Optics)
See Fringe.
Hear it pronounced