When a wave travelling through a medium (such as air) hits the surface of another medium (such as a mirror) it is reflected.

Difference between diffraction and refractionclass 12

Equipment designed to perform the lifting, holding, and relocating of small weights while preventing potential damage to the material.

reflection, refraction,diffraction andinterference

When a wave passes from one medium to another (such as from air to glass) the direction of the wave changes. This change in direction is called refraction.

The diagram below shows a wave being diffracted. Most waves will be partially reflected and partially refracted. However, for simplicity only refraction is shown in the diagram.

Light waves are often referred to when discussing reflection, refraction and diffraction. However, these behaviours also apply to other waves including sound waves and the other waves in the electromagnetic spectrum, the effects may just not be as great.

Difference between diffraction and refractionwith examples

When the aperture is larger than the wavelength most waves pass through and little diffraction occurs and when the aperture is much smaller than the wavelength most waves are blocked.

Difference between diffraction and refractionin physics

The size of the aperture (or object) determines the extent of diffraction, with the most significant diffraction occurring when the aperture is of the same order of magnitude as the wavelength of the wave.

Reflection,refraction diffraction difference

The diagram below illustrates a wave being reflected by a surface. Instead of drawing the actual wave a ray is drawn as it is much simpler than drawing the actual wave.

If you have any questions please leave them in the comments below and follow me on Pinterest or Instagram to stay up to date with the latest posts. If you would like to find more posts click on one of the following categories or use the search bar at the bottom of the page.

Refraction occurs because waves travel at different speeds in different mediums and this change in speed is caused by differences in density between the mediums. The angle of refraction is larger or smaller than the angle of incidence depending on how the speed changes:

As with reflection we have an angle of incidence, but instead of an angle of reflection we have and angle of refraction:

JAN provides free, confidential technical assistance about job accommodations and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).