# Wavelength and resolution

I'm reading some texts that seam to assume knowledge of light that I'm not too familiar with. How does wavelength of light relate to the minimum distance span that can be observed (i.e. you cannot make a lens big enough to resolve individual atoms), and is this a light phenomena or an intrinsic wave phenomena?

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This is a wave phenomenon. Suppose that you have a plane water wave. Say it hits a small object. If the object is smaller than the wavelength, it won't disturb the wave much. If the wavelength is smaller, and the object is the same size or larger than the object, then the wave will scatter off the object. I'm trying to find a video of this in a ripple tank but can't seem to find one online.

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That was kind of the response i was looking for, thanks. But is there any reason it won't disturb the wave if the object is smaller? Is there any more basic terms that can be explained in? –  Andreas Hagen Oct 22 '12 at 10:16
In quantum physics one can directly relate the frequency of light directly to energy: $$E=h\nu$$ where $h$ is Planck's constant and $\nu$ is frequency.
One can also relate frequency to period:$$\nu = \dfrac{1}{T}$$ which can be related to a wavelength if one knows the phase velocity of the system:$$\nu = \dfrac{v}{\lambda}$$ The velocity of light is $c$, therefore:$$\nu = \dfrac{c}{\lambda}$$ We can plug this back into our first equation and get:$$E=\dfrac{hc}{\lambda}$$.