PROPERTIES of WAVES

DIFFRACTION
 Diffraction of water waves
The bending of waves around a barrier is
called diffraction.
Shadow
region Shadow region

Shadow
region Water waves ”bend” around
corners
 Diffraction through an opening:

Amount of diffraction ∝λ

Amount of diffraction ∝ 1
width of the opening

The narrower the opening, the greater the diffraction.

Christiaan Huygens
A Dutch mathematician,
astronomer and physicist who
invented the first pendulum
clock, developed
mathematical relationships of
circular motion and supported
and developed the wave
theory of light.
 Huygens explains diffraction
Small circular wavelets are produced
by each point on the wave front
Wave fronts
• The small wave fronts that spread out from
each point on a wave front form a new
wave front on the envelope of these
secondary wave fronts.

•When straight wave fronts pass the edge of

a boundary they continue in the forward
direction.
•The wavelets starting at the edge of the
shadow region are able to spread out into the
shadow region because there are no other
wave fronts to interfere destructively and
cancel the sideways contribution.