Wave-Matter Interactions: Diffraction of Waves

The diffraction of waves occurs when waves encounter obstacles or gaps in obstacles. As a result of these obstacles the shape of the waves are altered. Exactly what changes about waves as they are diffracted and what laws govern this interaction will be investigated by the simulation below.

Experiment with this simulation to develop a more thorough understanding of the diffraction of waves. Change the wavelength and the gap size to see how the wave that passes through the opening changes.

  This effect can be understood more clearly by imagining that each point along a wavefront is a point source for waves. As the upper and lower parts of the wave are blocked by the aperture walls, only the points of the wave in the gap contribute to producing the wave that passes through the gap. Check out the Huygens' principle page to see what happens as the extent of the wavefront (or the number of points producing it) changes: CLAW Huygens' Prinicple

Use the above simulation to answer the following questions?