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dervast
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Hi can u please explain me the difference between refraction and diffraction?
spacetime said:Another interesting fact is that though refraction can be explained if you take into account only the particle picture of light, diffraction cannot be explained.
spacetime
Physics
ZapperZ said:This is not true.
vanesch said:Probably the poster meant the NEWTONIAN particle picture of light...
ZapperZ said:This is not true.
Diffraction is a DIRECT manifestation of the Uncertainty principle based on the determination of a photon's transverse position by the slit. Furthermore, the Marcella paper that I've mentioned several times clearly derived purely using quantum mechanics of the diffraction pattern and the interference pattern from multiple slits.[1]
Zz.
[1] T.V. Marcella, Eur. J. Phys., v.23, p.615 (2002).
spacetime said:Yes, I was wrong in what I said. Diffraction can indeed be explained using the photon picture, that is the particle nature of light. Actually, I was referring to the historical fact that diffracion could not be explained using the corpuscle picture, which could still have explained refraction by proper assumptions.
Thanks Zz.
ZapperZ said:IF that is true (I doubt it), then someone is severely out-of-date.
Zz.
spacetime said:Yes, I was wrong in what I said. Diffraction can indeed be explained using the photon picture, that is the particle nature of light. Actually, I was referring to the historical fact that diffracion could not be explained using the corpuscle picture, which could still have explained refraction by proper assumptions.
Thanks Zz.
sophiecentaur said:If the term 'diffraction' is taken to mean the way the propagation of a wave is affected by some sort of obstruction to its path then how is refraction anything other than subset of diffraction - just like interference is also a subset?
The results of all three can be calculated by integrating the contributions of the full width of incident wavefront to find out what happens beyond the structure of interest. (The Huygens idea)
The above is an essentially classical approach but I think it applies even if you want to include Quantum interactions.
Diffraction is the bending of waves around obstacles or through small openings, while refraction is the change in direction of a wave when it passes through a medium with different density.
Diffraction causes light to spread out and create patterns when it passes through small openings or around objects. Refraction causes light to bend when it moves from one medium to another, such as from air to water.
A common example is when you see a rainbow. The light from the sun is diffracted and refracted by water droplets in the air, creating the colorful spectrum we see.
Diffraction is used in many technologies such as CD players and diffractive lenses for glasses. Refraction is used in lenses for glasses and cameras, as well as in the design of optical instruments like microscopes and telescopes.
Both diffraction and refraction have unique properties and are important in different ways. Neither is inherently better than the other, but they both play important roles in understanding and manipulating light in various applications.