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Physics Lesson 12.4.1 - Does the Diffraction of Light Wave Exist?
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Welcome to our Physics lesson on Does the Diffraction of Light Wave Exist?, this is the first lesson of our suite of physics lessons covering the topic of Interference and Diffraction of Light, you can find links to the other lessons within this tutorial and access additional physics learning resources below this lesson.
Does the Diffraction of Light Waves Exist?
It is a known fact that light is an electromagnetic transverse wave. As such, it possesses all properties of waves, including diffraction.
As explained in our Physics tutorial on the Diffraction of Waves, diffraction is the property of a wave bending around a small obstacle, or when it passes through a narrow opening (gap). However, this phenomenon can be observed only when the dimensions of the obstacle or gap are comparable to the wavelength. This is the reason why diffraction of light waves can hardly be observed without using special techniques.
One of techniques we have discussed in our Physics tutorial on our Physics tutorial covering the Interference of Waves is by using a small gap in which the light waves are allowed to pass through. As a result, a number of bright and dark regions are produced on a screen placed at a distance from the gap. These regions form because of waves' overlap (interference). When dealing with light waves, the above gap or opening is known as slit. Hence, we say that the phenomenon described above is called "single slit diffraction" of light waves.
When light passes through a single slit whose width a is on the order of the wavelength of the light, then we can observe a single slit diffraction pattern on a screen that is a distance D >> a away from the slit. The light intensity is a function of angle, i.e the intensity of light weakens when the angle increases as shown in the figure below.
Huygens' Principle tells us that each part of the slit can be thought of as an emitter of waves. All these waves interfere to produce the diffraction pattern In places where crest meets crest we have constructive interference (as in the above figure) and where crest meets trough we have destructive interference.
You have reached the end of Physics lesson 12.4.1 Does the Diffraction of Light Wave Exist?. There are 4 lessons in this physics tutorial covering Interference and Diffraction of Light, you can access all the lessons from this tutorial below.
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