हिंदी
Tamil Nadu Board of Secondary EducationHSC Science Class 12

Diffraction of Light

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Estimated time: 4 minutes
CBSE: Class 12

Definition: Diffraction

Diffraction is the phenomenon of bending of light (or any wave) around the corners or edges of an obstacle or aperture, causing it to spread into the geometrical shadow region and produce alternate dark and bright regions.

CBSE: Class 12

Observing Diffraction

  • Near the geometrical shadow of an opaque object, alternate dark and bright regions appear.
  • This pattern is similar to an interference pattern, indicating that light is bending around the corners of objects.
CBSE: Class 12

Diffraction of Light is Not Easily Noticeable

  • Diffraction is not easily noticeable in light because the wavelength of light is very small (roughly 400–700 nm).
  • For diffraction to be significant, the size of the obstacle or aperture must be comparable to the wavelength of the wave.
  • Since everyday objects are far larger than the wavelength of light, diffraction effects are too small to observe with the naked eye in most situations.
CBSE: Class 12

Diffraction and Resolving Power

  • The resolving power of the eye and optical instruments such as telescopes and microscopes is fundamentally limited by the phenomenon of diffraction.
  • No matter how perfectly an instrument is built, diffraction sets an ultimate limit on how finely it can distinguish two closely spaced objects.
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