

In ocean waves, we see this occur when a wave encounters an object like. In the case of two waves, the total wave at. The way their propagation is affected by the object or the opening depends on the dimensions of the obstacle. Terms interferenceAn effect caused by the superposition of two systems of waves, such as a distortion on a broadcast signal due to atmospheric or other effects. Diffraction occurs when a wave encounters an obstruction in its path and will change direction, or wrap around it. In this chapter well study what happens when waves from two or more sources exist at a given point in space. The phasor approach accounts for the downward slope in the diffraction intensity (blue line) so that the peak near m=1 occurs at a value of θ ever so slightly smaller than we have shown here. Diffraction is a phenomenon that affects waves when they encounter an object or an opening along their path of propagation. The crucial difference between diffraction and interference is that diffraction of light occurs due to the superposition of secondary wavelets that generates from various parts of a wavefront.
