St. Mary's H.S. - Diffraction Notes

D) Diffraction – the spreading out of a wave into the region behind an obstacle

Wave/Slit/Diffraction

Amount of Diffraction
Depends on
Wavelength &
Size of Slit

Press the up/down arrows to change slit size

Diffraction increases
when size of the slit
approaches
wavelength size.

Which slit will

cause light to

diffract the most?

A - That slit width is

closest to the

wavelength of light

Why does amount of diffraction increase
as the size of the slit decreases?
Molecular Expressions

Enrichment