The bending phenomenon of light is called diffraction of light.
When light passes through an obstacle light tends to bend its path at corners.
Diffraction
Types of diffraction:
- Fresnel's diffraction
- Fraunhofer
diffraction.
When a light ray encounters the edges , the atoms of edges absorb the amount of light and reemit the light wave in the form of a cylindrical wave front.
Diffraction of light depends on propagation of light and light being treated as waves.
When the size of the obstacle is greater than the wavelength of light, then diffraction cannot be seen through the necked eye.
When the size of the obstacle is lesser than the wavelength of the light then diffraction of light can be seen.
Holograms used to produce a diffraction can be seen in credit cards and book covers.Laser beam propagation.