Which one of the following terms is used to describe the bending of waves and subsequent spreading around obstacles or the edges of an opening?

A) refraction

B) diffraction

C) interference

D) coherence

E) sonoluminescence

B) diffraction

Explanation:

It is the bending of the waves around the edge of an obstacle that is encountered by the wave in its path. The size of the object from the initial direction of the wave to its edge must be of the same order as the wavelength of the wave. Longer the wavelength greater is the diffraction. For a particular wavelength the diffraction is maximum when the size of the gap is equal to the size of the object.