Why do light form an interference pattern when passing through only one slit?

AI Thread Summary
When a single water wave or monochromatic light passes through a single slit, it creates a diffraction pattern rather than a traditional interference pattern. This diffraction pattern consists of maxima and minima fringes, which differ from the interference patterns formed by two coherent waves. The formation of these patterns occurs due to the wave nature of light and the bending of waves as they pass through the slit. Understanding this distinction is crucial for grasping wave behavior in different contexts. The discussion clarifies the confusion between interference and diffraction patterns.
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Hi guys, i know that if we were to have one water wave passing through two slit, an interference pattern would be form. However, i am still unclear of the kind of the pattern that will be form when a single water wave were to pass through a single slit. Will it form an interference pattern too? If so, how does the interference pattern form when there were no two coherent waves interacting with each other?

This also applies to monochromatic light passing through a single slit.. will it form an interference pattern just like when it passes through two slit?
 
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What you are referring to are DIFFRACTION patterns.
These can consist of maxima and minima fringes but their formation is subtly different from interference max and min formed by 2 or more wavefronts.
 
Oh i see, yea i got kinda mixed up... many thanks!
 
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