Question

What is Huygens's principle?

Answer 1

1. Every point on a wavefront is in itself the source of spherical wavelets which spread out in the forward direction at the speed of light. The sum of these spherical wavelets forms the wavefront.
2. In 1678, this principle was proposed by Christiaan Huygens.

The additional highlights things are as follows:

1. Secondary sources begin to generate their individual wavelets, which resemble those of the parent origin.
2. A unique tangent upon that wavelets along with the advancing orientation at any particular moment in time produces the incoming wavefront.
3. The wavefront is formed by the sum of spherical wavelets.

Examples of Huygen’s Principle

1. Whenever a stone is tossed into a river, it causes waves to form around it.
2. The wavefronts gradually scatter throughout all directions.

Therefore, this principle states that every point on a wavefront might well be thought of as a supplementary wave source.