A diffraction-based threshold stating that two point sources are just resolved when the principal diffraction maximum of one image coincides with the first minimum of the other. For a circular aperture, this angular resolution equals 1.22 times the wavelength divided by the aperture diameter. It sets the fundamental physical limit on the resolving power of telescopes, microscopes, and beam focusing systems.
Heard on the job
We're hitting Rayleigh's resolution limit with this objective, so we either need a shorter wavelength or a larger NA to see those defects.
Also heard as
- Rayleigh criterion