Diffraction & Polarisation

Question 1

What is diffraction?

Answer 1

When waves look like they spread out as they travel & bend around an object or through a gap in an object

Question 2

If you want diffraction to occur to a small wavelength of light eg, what should the hole be?

Answer 2

Small like the wavelength

Question 3

Will diffraction occur if the small wavelength goes through a big hole?

Answer 3

No

Question 4

What is polarisations?

Answer 4

Is kind of like the orientation of a wave (vertical/horizontal)

Question 5

What polarisation is sunlight?

Answer 5

Unpolarised! - it has many polarisations (vertical/horizontal/diagonal etc)

Question 6

How can unpolarised light just have one polarisation?

Answer 6

Polarisers that filter specific polarisations