What is diffraction?

Water waves spread out when they go through a narrow opening, that’s diffraction.

Imagine you're playing with water in the bathtub. You have a little toy boat, and it's making ripples. Now, if you put a small wall between you and the boat, only part of the water can pass through the gap in the wall. When those waves come out on the other side, they don’t just go straight, they spread out like they’re trying to fill the whole bathtub again.

Diffraction is when waves bend around corners or spread out after going through a small opening, just like water spreading out from that narrow gap.

Now think of this: instead of water, imagine light. Light is also made of waves. If you shine a flashlight through a tiny hole in a cardboard box, like the wall in your bathtub, the light doesn’t go straight on the other side. It spreads out, lighting up more than just where it went straight.

That’s how diffraction works with light too! You can see this effect in real life when you look at light coming through leaves, or even through a narrow window. It's like the light is doing a little dance on the other side. Water waves spread out when they go through a narrow opening, that’s diffraction.

Imagine you're playing with water in the bathtub. You have a little toy boat, and it's making ripples. Now, if you put a small wall between you and the boat, only part of the water can pass through the gap in the wall. When those waves come out on the other side, they don’t just go straight, they spread out like they’re trying to fill the whole bathtub again.

Diffraction is when waves bend around corners or spread out after going through a small opening, just like water spreading out from that narrow gap.

Now think of this: instead of water, imagine light. Light is also made of waves. If you shine a flashlight through a tiny hole in a cardboard box, like the wall in your bathtub, the light doesn’t go straight on the other side. It spreads out, lighting up more than just where it went straight.

That’s how diffraction works with light too! You can see this effect in real life when you look at light coming through leaves, or even through a narrow window. It's like the light is doing a little dance on the other side.