Refraction and Diffraction

Refraction and diffraction 2 different properties of waves, that affect all types of waves. Light normally travels in straight a straight line as long as it is going through the same material. Once is begins going through a different material, it refracts, meaning that it bends, because it travels at a different speed through other materials than it does through air, due to the variation in density, and this causes images to appear bent or distorted. To measure this, we measure the angle of refraction, which is the angle at which a color of light is bent when being refracted. Different colors have different angles of refraction. A prism refracts all colors of light at different angles so that you can see them as a rainbow, as well as rain drops on a sunny day. Diffraction, on the other hand, is "the bending and spreading of waves around different obstacles" (Brainpop: Refraction and Diffraction). Diffraction is like radio waves radiating from a television base, or when you talk. The waves don't all travel in a straight line, but instead in all directions, so that they reach different places. Another example of diffraction is the passing of waves through a small hole. The waves on the other side will spread out. If there is more than one one hole, the waves spread out and overlap, creating a predictable interference pattern. Diffraction can be used, for example, to create x-ray images of small objects, or images of very distant ones.

Diffraction

Refraction