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.
