Recall that the amount of diffraction of a wave is significant when the size of the opening is similar to the wave length of the wave and you can explain why sound waves diffract a great deal, while the waves of light do so to a much smaller extent.
This is a result of refraction of sound waves caused by the cool air that lies above the water in the evening.įinally, have you ever considered why you are able to hear sounds coming through an open doorway even though you cannot see the source of that sound? This is caused by diffraction of the sound waves, which spread out into a broad angle when passing through the opening. If you have ever been at the shore of a quiet lake in the evening, you may have noticed how you can hear sounds coming across the lake that were not heard hours earlier during the daytime. Sonar and ultrasound are two technologies that take advantage of the reflection of sound. The fact that you can hear sounds around corners and around barriers involves both diffraction and reflection. Important parts of our experience with sound involve diffraction. (Because sound waves are much larger than light waves, however. Diffraction: the bending of waves around small obstacles and the spreading out of waves beyond small openings.
Any type of energy that travels in a wave is capable of diffraction, and the diffraction of sound and light waves produces a number of effects. This is because sound waves can diffract through the opening at the bottom of the door. The fact that we can hear an echo is an example of the ability of sound to reflect off surfaces. Diffraction is the bending of waves around obstacles, or the spreading of waves by passing them through an aperture, or opening. Absolutely! sounds waves are mechanical waves and demonstrate all of these behaviours.