- #1
jaumzaum
- 434
- 33
Hi. I was studying Huygens Principle and I learned that diffraction usually occurs more when the slit is comparable in size with the wavelength, and this image does not leave my head:
We can see that the "middle" part of the wavefront keeps traveling in the same direction, but the wavefront in the extremities starts to propagate as spheres. My question is, can we determine the intensity of some cross section of this "new" wavefront
A. in the middle
B. in the extremities
I'm having this questions because I was wondering why lasers are collimated, as the light leaves a small aperture. Is the aperture big enough so that no diffraction can be seen? But eventhough no diffraction can be seen, it still occur right? For example, if I am in a plane perpendicular to the beam, and the laser is in the vacuum, will I still be able to see the beam due to diffraction? What will be the intensity of the light seen?
We can see that the "middle" part of the wavefront keeps traveling in the same direction, but the wavefront in the extremities starts to propagate as spheres. My question is, can we determine the intensity of some cross section of this "new" wavefront
A. in the middle
B. in the extremities
I'm having this questions because I was wondering why lasers are collimated, as the light leaves a small aperture. Is the aperture big enough so that no diffraction can be seen? But eventhough no diffraction can be seen, it still occur right? For example, if I am in a plane perpendicular to the beam, and the laser is in the vacuum, will I still be able to see the beam due to diffraction? What will be the intensity of the light seen?