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Question 184 of 199

Q.What are the differences between interference and diffraction ?

Tamil Nadu DgeTamil Nadu HSC (DGE) Board 2024Subjective· 3mImportance★★★★★
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Interference arises from two coherent sources and gives equally spaced, equal-intensity fringes; diffraction arises from a single aperture/obstacle and gives unequally spaced fringes of rapidly falling intensity, dominated by a wide bright central maximum.

InterferenceDiffraction
Superposition of waves from two (or more) distinct coherent sourcesBending/spreading of waves from different parts of the same wavefront passing an obstacle or aperture
All bright fringes (maxima) are of nearly equal intensityIntensity of successive maxima falls off rapidly; central maximum is far brighter than the rest
Fringes are of equal width, equally spacedFringes (secondary maxima) are of unequal width
Minima are usually points/regions of exactly zero intensityMinima are also points of zero intensity, but positioned/spaced differently, following asin⁡θ=nλa\sin\theta=n\lambda

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