Radial Intensity Profile (1D)

Visualize the intensity curve of two point sources.

Wavelength (λ): 512 nm

400700

Numerical Aperture (NA): 0.85

0.11.4

Separation: 365 nm

01000

Minimum Resolvable Distance:

367.4 nm

At Rayleigh Limit

According to the Rayleigh criterion, two points are just resolved when the central maximum of one Airy pattern coincides with the first minimum of the other. The plot shows the combined intensity of two such points.

Airy Disk Simulation (2D)

Heatmap of two overlapping Airy patterns showing the resolution limit.

Wavelength (λ): 512 nm

400700

Numerical Aperture (NA): 0.85

0.11.4

Separation Distance: 367.4 nm

501000

Normalize Brightness

Rayleigh Limit (d):

367.4 nm

d = 0.61 * λ / NA

Current Values:

Wavelength (λ): 512 nm

NA: 0.85

Separation: 367.4 nm

At Rayleigh Limit

This heatmap shows the combined intensity of two overlapping Airy patterns. Adjust the sliders to see how wavelength, numerical aperture, and separation distance affect the ability to resolve the two points. The Rayleigh limit indicates the minimum distance at which they are considered resolved.