Questions and Answers
What is the phenomenon called when waves encounter an obstacle or small opening and bend around the edges?
Diffraction
Under what condition does a plane wave not bend at the slit?
$a > \lambda$
Which type of diffraction deals with non-plane wavefronts and is experimentally simple but analytically complex?
Fresnel Diffraction
What did Dominique Arago observe in 1881 when a circular disc or coin was placed between a point source and a screen?
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What type of diffraction deals with parallel rays and plane wavefronts, and is mostly used for explanation due to the easily achieved conditions?
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Study Notes
Diffraction of Waves
- The phenomenon of waves bending around the edges of an obstacle or small opening is called diffraction.
- A plane wave does not bend at the slit when its wavelength is much smaller than the size of the slit.
- The type of diffraction that deals with non-plane wavefronts and is experimentally simple but analytically complex is called Fresnel diffraction.
- In 1881, Dominique Arago observed that when a circular disc or coin was placed between a point source and a screen, the shadow of the disc had a bright spot in the center, which is known as Poisson's spot.
- The type of diffraction that deals with parallel rays and plane wavefronts, and is mostly used for explanation due to the easily achieved conditions, is called Fraunhofer diffraction.
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