6  DIFFRACTION
If we look clearly at the shadow cast by an opaque object, close to the
region of geometrical shadow, there are alternate dark and bright regions
just like in interference This happens due to the phenomenon of
diffraction Diffraction is a general characteristic exhibited by all types of
waves, be it sound waves, light waves, water waves or matter waves Since
the wavelength of light is much smaller than the dimensions of most
obstacles; we do not encounter diffraction effects of light in everyday
Rationalised 2023-24
267
Wave Optics
observations