Description

This article is from the CD-Recordable FAQ, by Andy McFadden (fadden@fadden.com) with numerous contributions by others.

7-28] What causes the rainbow effect when looking at the data side?

(2004/03/03)

A CD has a single spiral track, each revolution of which is separated by 1.6
microns on a 74-minute disc (less on higher-capacity discs). The mirrored
"grooves" act as a reflection diffraction grating, causing interference
patterns in the reflected light.

Some related web sites:

- http://science.howstuffworks.com/question52.htm
- http://www.u.arizona.edu/~tagin/Report.html

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