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In ocean waves, we see this occur when a wave encounters an object like a jetty and the wave rotates around it (sometimes diffraction also occurs when a waves moves through a small opening in a seawall or between or two islands). WATCH: Newport Beach River Jetties Live Surf Camĭiffraction occurs when a wave encounters an obstruction in its path and will change direction, or wrap around it.
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Surfline founder, Sean Collins, explains how this can benefit surfers in a blog from years past, “ Waves at Newport Pier?” This is commonly seen in deep water canyons where the wave encounters shallow water along the canyon’s edges, and the wave will bend/refract towards the shallow water. As a wave travels from deep to shallow water, the wavelength shortens, the wave speed slows down, and the wave will refract, or bend, toward the shallow area in order to conserve its energy. However, this shift generally occurs due to changes in ocean depth. Now, in terms of ocean waves, refraction also involves a change of direction when a wave experiences a shift in wavelength and wave speed. This is due to energy conservation when a wave changes its wavelength, and thus wave speed, as it enters a new medium (like in light or sound waves traveling from air to water). A Physics definition of refraction involves a change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another.