The wavelength of light used to observe an object must be _________ than the object itself.

Question

?Larger

?Smaller

?of higher energy

?of lower energy

Answer 1

Smaller. If it was larger, you wouldn't see the object.

Answer 2

The conventional answer would be "smaller" though this is not really completly true. Using conventional optics, the wavelength must be about 1/4-1/2 the length of the finest feature one hopes to resolve optically if one hopes to have good image quality.

Recently, advancements have been developed in the subject area called "near field optics". Using this technology, one can discriminate objects much smaller than the wavelegth of light. Work is cited where resolution is 1/20 the wavelenght of light used.

http://www.olympusmicro.com/primer/techn...

Astrobuf