Any time a waveform encounters an obstacle, it will bend around that obstacle. Not just light, but the entire electromagnetic spectrum, as well as waves moving through water, sound waves, etc. Diffraction is a physical phenomena, a trait of waves as they move past an obstacle. Now that I have my own personal blog at my fingertips, I thought I would put down in a single, cohesive article, what the Diffraction Myth is, and debunk the myth with what I hope will be a relatively simple explanation backed up by some real-world examples and visual aids.īefore diving into what the diffraction myth is, it helps to fully understand what diffraction is. I have explained on many forums, on many occasions, the true nature of diffraction. Despite its broad recognition, diffraction is probably one of the most misunderstood things in photography. It is probably one of the more well-known technical aspects of photography, even by those who are not technically minded. So, it makes sense that lower-frequency sounds typically have a wide dispersion and sounds with small wavelenths have a narrow dispersion.If you have ever dug into the nature of light as it pertains to photography, or become involved in a discussion about how narrow (small) apertures adversely affect image quality, you have probably heard of diffraction. Conversely, if the ratio of W/D is small, then x is small and the waves are said to have a narrow dispersion and the sound waves go through the opening without spreading out very much. In this case, the waves are said to have a wide dispersion and the sound waves are spread out wider through the opening. If the ratio of W/D is large, then x is large. So, looking at these two equations you can tell that the extent of the diffraction depends on the ratio of the wavelength to the size and shape of the opening. Angle x, W for wavelength, and D for width are all still the same. For a circular opening, the equation is slightly different. Gives x in terms of the wavelength and the width of the doorway. If we let angle x be the location of the first minimum intensity point on either side of the center, W be the wavelength, and D be the width of the doorway, the equation Waves diffract differently depending on the object they are bending around. Each maxima gets progressively softer further away from the center. As you move further away from the center, the intensity decreases until it is at zero, then increases to a maximum, falls to zero, rises to a maximum.and so on. Directly in front of the center of the doorway the intensity is a maximum. The sound outside of the room has varying intensity depending on where you stand. The final result is the diffraction of the sound wave around the doorway. This results in each molecule producing a sound wave and emitting it outward in a spherical fashion. This means that each air molecule is a source of a sound wave itself. Instead, the air in the doorway is set into longitudinal vibration by the sound waves from the stereo. Without diffraction, the sound from the stereo could only be heard directly in front of the door. All waves exhibit diffraction, not just sound waves. This bending of a wave is called diffraction. For example, if a stereo is playing in a room with the door open, the sound produced by the stereo will bend around the walls surrounding the opening. An obstacle is no match for a sound wave the wave simply bends around it.