![diffraction in waves diffraction in waves](https://pixfeeds.com/images/science/physics/1280-507567826-waves-diffraction.jpg)
The white region is a cross-section of the front part of an aircraft engine, the sound wave is produced by the turbofan. The animation below shows another example of diffraction. Thus, this solution for noise reduction is efficient only if the houses are located within the shadow region of the sound barrier. It is characterised by low noise levels due only to the acoustic diffracted wave. A shadow region is observed just behind the barrier (bottom right of the animation). Important parts of our experience with sound. 12.2 When a wave encounters an obstacle or a slit some portion of the incident wave is reflected while the remaining part is transmitted in a distorted. Interference patterns due to the superposition of the incident wave and the diffracted wave are clearly seen just before the barrier (bottom left of the animation). Diffraction: the bending of waves around small obstacles and the spreading out of waves beyond small openings. The animation below illustrates how a travelling wave emitted from the upper left corner by, say, an aeroplane is diffracted by a sound barrier erected to shield homes from the traffic noise. An example of diffraction phenomena is given by the spreading of waves around an obstacle. Diffraction occurs if a wave encounters an object and if the wavelength is of the same size (or greater than) the object size. The spreading of waves when they pass through an opening, or around an obstacle into regions where we would not expect them, is called diffraction.