Figure 1.19

[Liam Maxwell 2E]

In figure 1.19 on page 15 of the textbook an illustration depicting an experiment is shown. Waves of electromagnetic radiation are shot at a screen and pass through a pair of closely spaced slits, and as a result circular waves are generated on the other side of the screen. This figure is used to demonstrate that light has wave-like properties but I am confused as to how these circular waves are generated, and why that proves lights wavelike properties.

[Riya Pathare 2E]

To the best of my knowledge the light generating the waves is like water if you think about it. Like when we skip stones on a pond or something how waves are generated on the waters surface. Like that, when the light passes through the slits it is restricted to the slit space (small) for a second and then expands when there is more room, creating the waves. The waves then interest with each other through constructive and destructive interference which creates a smaller or larger wave. This interaction and how they look after they pass the slits shows they have wave-like properties. Not sure if this helped that much but hopefully it is something to work off of!