Waves are categorized into two groups, transverse and longitudinal waves.

Longitudinal waves are waves that require a medium to transmit through, and transverse waves do no. Light is an example of a transverse wave. Light has many different properties that can be studied, one of which is diffraction. Diffraction is a property of light that greatly affects how we perceive the world around us. Diffraction, essentially, is the bending of light around an obstacle. As light travels, it spreads out in all directions. However, when it encounters an obstacle, it spreads out around that obstacle instead of just stopping at the obstacle. For example, one instance of diffraction is light shining through an open doorway into a dark hallway. The light shining through the doorway doesnt just shine in a straight path that is as wide as the door opening; it bends around the door frames, which, in this example, would be the obstacles the light encounters, and shines light throughout the dark hallway. Another example would be the lights that are placed outside your house. If there was no diffraction, the light beam produced would only be as wide as the light bulb itself. However, because of diffraction, the light spreads out around the obstacle of the light covering and produces a much greater area of light. If diffraction didnt exist in the world, light would have to just continue in the path that it originated from; an open doorway, for example, wouldnt be able to light up a hallway. Diffraction is necessary for light to be able to shine around obstacles. In diffraction, there are a few points that are crucial to understand in order to fully grasp the concept. For example, as light is diffracted, it spreads out. As the light spreads out, the intensity of the light decreases. Therefore, the brightest area of diffracted light would be in the absolute center. This light isnt even diffracted; its shining directly onto that spot. Diffraction allows light to extend in multiple directions until it slowly fades out. Think of a spotlight. The

brightest spot is in the absolute center. As the light diffracts from the center of the spotlight, it slowly fades out. This diffraction prevents an absolute line where the light would abruptly stop shining. Diffraction has many properties that make it unique. One property is that when diffraction encounters other light sources in its path, it produces interference. Interference is the convergence of waves that results in the change in those waves amplitudes. There are two kinds of interference, constructive and destructive. This interference can be demonstrated in double slit diffraction. Double slit diffraction occurs when one light source shines through a surface with two or more slits in it and onto another surface. As the light travels through these slits, it is diffracted as it normally would be. However, the slits diffracted light overlaps in certain spots. This creates a pattern on the surface the diffracted light is shining on. Since light is a wave, it has crests and troughs. When these waves interfere as they are diffracted, there will be some areas of constructive interference and some areas of destructive interference. This produces fringes. Fringes are beams that result from both constructive and destructive interference. There are two kinds of fringes. Bright fringes are areas of constructive interference and dark fringes are areas of destructive interference. These fringes create the patterns visible on the surface that the slits diffracted light is shining on. Bright and dark fringes alternate in a pattern of bright, dark, bright dark, and so on. As the slits on the paper move farther away from each other, more fringes are created because of the increased number of waves that will interfere. This process also works vice versa when the slits are closer together. Diffraction has many uses because of its unique properties. One way diffraction is used in the world is in resolving images in telescopes and microscopes. When first glancing into either a telescope or microscope, a blurry image is usually seen. To clear up, or resolve, this

image, the telescope and microscope use diffraction. The diffraction of light takes the entire blurry image and breaks it into smaller pieces to resolve it. As each smaller piece of the image is clear, the entire picture becomes clear to the observer. Whether its creating clear images or creating patterns of light through slits, diffraction is a unique property of light that allows us to better see the world around us. This bending of light allows light to spread out around obstacles in its path. It has many uses in the world, including the ability to resolve images in telescopes and microscopes. It also creates light patterns when it encounters interference with another light source. Diffraction is an aspect of light that helps us better observe our world.

Bibliography Davidson, M. W. (n.d.). Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer: Light and Color Diffraction of Light. Molecular Expressions Microscopy Primer: Light and Color Diffraction of Light. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://micro.magnet.fsu.edu/primer/lightandcolor/diffractionintro.html Abramowitz, M., & Davidson, M. W. (n.d.). Diffraction of Light. Olympus Microscopy Resource Center. Retrieved October 28, 2013, from http://www.olympusmicro.com/primer/lightandcolor/diffraction.html Hewitt, P. (2009). Conceptual Physics. New Jersey: Addison-Wesley and Pearson. Classic Two-Slit Experiment. (n.d.). Classic Two-Slit Experiment. Retrieved October 23, 2013, from http://www.colorado.edu/physics/2000/schroedinger/two-slit2.html Diffraction Grating. (n.d.). Diffraction Grating. Retrieved October 24, 2013, from http://www.physics.smu.edu/~scalise/emmanual/diffraction/lab.html