Here's a breakdown:
* Diffraction is the phenomenon where waves bend around obstacles or spread out when passing through an opening. This bending is a result of the wave nature of light.
* Huygens' Principle states that every point on a wavefront can be considered a source of secondary wavelets that spread out in all directions. When light passes through a narrow slit, each point on the wavefront within the slit acts as a source of secondary wavelets. These wavelets interfere with each other, creating a pattern of bright and dark bands called interference fringes.
* The width of the slit determines the extent of the diffraction. A narrower slit leads to greater spreading of the light, resulting in wider interference fringes.
Essentially, diffraction explains why light doesn't simply travel in straight lines, but instead bends and spreads out, especially when encountering obstacles or narrow openings like a slit.
