IIT JEE , AIEEE Forum - Physics , Optics - Can anyone pls give me a qualitative description of how diffraction takes place?

abrambenny

Can anyone pls give me a qualitative description of how diffraction takes place?

kashyap6552

Diffraction is the bending of waves around obstacles, or the spreading of waves by passing them through an aperture, or opening. Any type of energy that travels in a wave is capable of diffraction, and the diffraction of sound and light waves produces a number of effects. (Because sound waves are much larger than light waves)

How It Works----->(Comparing Sound and Light Diffraction)
Imagine going to a concert hall to hear a band, and to your chagrin, you discover that your seat is directly behind a wide post. You cannot see the band, of course, because the light waves from the stage are blocked. But you have little trouble hearing the music, since sound waves simply diffract around the pillar. Light waves diffract slightly in such a situation, but not enough to make a difference with regard to your enjoyment of the concert: if you looked closely while sitting behind the post, you would be able to observe the diffraction of the light waves glowing slightly, as they widened around the post.
Suppose, now, that you had failed to obtain a ticket, but a friend who worked at the concert venue arranged to let you stand outside an open door and hear the band. The sound quality would be far from perfect, of course, but you would still be able to hear the music well enough. And if you stood right in front of the doorway, you would be able to see light from inside the concert hall. But, if you moved away from the door and stood with your back to the building, you would see little light, whereas the sound would still be easily audible.

kashyap6552

edited..

kashyap6552

get d below link it mite help u more ...
http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/java/diffraction/basicdiffraction/index.html

abrambenny

Thanx. But what i asked was for a theoretical description of how and why diffraction takes place not the slit experiment,but how it happens,?
or what exactly causes light to bend around obstacles?

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