Diffraction Patterns of Apertures Shaped as National Borders

TL;DR

This study explores the diffraction patterns of apertures shaped like national borders, combining calculations and experiments, revealing two main trends related to geographical area and entropy.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method of shaping apertures as national borders and analyzes their diffraction patterns using FFT and entropy measures.

Findings

Most nations' diffraction patterns follow two main trends.

Patterns correlate with geographical area and entropy.

Entropy varies significantly between the two identified trends.

Abstract

How aesthetically pleasing is your country's diffraction pattern? This work summarizes the calculated and experimental Fraunhofer diffraction patterns obtained from using apertures lithographically formed into shapes of national borders. Calculations are made based on the fast Fourier transform of the aperture images. The entropy of each of the 113 nations' diffraction patterns was also computed based on its two-dimensional gradient. Results suggest that most nations' diffraction patterns fall under one of two prominent trends forming as a function of geographical area, with one trend being less entropic than the other.