Degree of coherence
Degree of coherence is a measurement of how much different waves match up with each other. Imagine you have a bunch of kids playing with a big pile of blocks. If all the kids have blocks that are the same size and shape, and they all stack them in the exact same way, that's like having very high coherence. Everything is very organized and consistent.
But if the kids have blocks of all different shapes and sizes, and they're all stacking them in different ways, that's like having low coherence. Everything is all over the place and chaotic.
In the world of physics, waves can be like those blocks – they can be very organized and consistent (high coherence) or they can be all over the place (low coherence). Scientists use the concept of degree of coherence to measure how much those waves match up with each other. The higher the degree of coherence, the more organized and consistent the waves are. The lower the degree of coherence, the more chaotic and unpredictable the waves are.
But if the kids have blocks of all different shapes and sizes, and they're all stacking them in different ways, that's like having low coherence. Everything is all over the place and chaotic.
In the world of physics, waves can be like those blocks – they can be very organized and consistent (high coherence) or they can be all over the place (low coherence). Scientists use the concept of degree of coherence to measure how much those waves match up with each other. The higher the degree of coherence, the more organized and consistent the waves are. The lower the degree of coherence, the more chaotic and unpredictable the waves are.