Write the limitation of Huygen's principle.

Vedclass pdf generator app on play store
Vedclass iOS app on app store
(N/A) According to Huygen's principle,every point on a wavefront acts as an independent secondary source and emits small secondary wavelets.
Huygen's principle assumes that the amplitude of these secondary wavelets is maximum in the forward direction and zero in the backward direction.
However,Huygen's could not provide a theoretical justification for why the wave does not propagate backwards; this was an ad-hoc assumption.
Later,scientists such as Voigt and Kirchhoff provided a mathematical explanation,stating that the intensity of the secondary wave is proportional to the factor $(1 + \cos \theta)^2$,where $\theta$ is the angle made by the wavefront with the direction of propagation.
In the forward direction,$\theta = 0^{\circ}$,so the intensity factor is $(1 + \cos 0^{\circ})^2 = (1 + 1)^2 = 4$ (maximum).
In the backward direction,$\theta = 180^{\circ}$ (or $\pi$ radians),so the intensity factor is $(1 + \cos 180^{\circ})^2 = (1 - 1)^2 = 0$. Thus,there is no propagation of waves in the backward direction.

Explore More

Similar Questions

Newton postulated his corpuscular theory on the basis of

What is the shape of the wavefront on Earth for sunlight?

Huygens' principle is applicable to

The following figure represents a wave front $AB$ which passes from air to another transparent medium and produces a new wave front $CD$ after refraction. The refractive index of the medium is $:$ ($PQ$ is the boundary between air and the medium)

You have learnt in the text how Huygens' principle leads to the laws of reflection and refraction. Use the same principle to deduce directly that a point object placed in front of a plane mirror produces a virtual image whose distance from the mirror is equal to the object distance from the mirror.

Vedclass Products

For Students

Vedclass Test Series

Mock tests in real JEE/NEET style with performance analysis. 5-day free trial.

Start Free Trial
For Teachers

Exam Paper Generator

Generate Set A/B/C/D exam papers from 7.5L+ questions in 2 minutes. 3 chapters free.

Try Free
For Institutes

Online Exam Module

Live online exams with unlimited students, 360° analytics & white-label branding.

See Demo