Both light and sound waves suffer diffraction. Why it is more difficult to observe diffraction with light waves?

Answer

### Step-by-Step Solution:

1. **Understanding Diffraction**:
- Diffraction is the bending of waves around obstacles and openings. Both sound and light waves exhibit this phenomenon.

2. **Wavelength Comparison**:
- The ability to observe diffraction is closely related to the wavelength of the waves involved. Sound waves have wavelengths in the range of 10^-1 to 10^-2 meters (or centimeters), while light waves have much smaller wavelengths, approximately 10^-9 to 10^-10 meters (or nanometers).

3. **Size of Obstacles**:
- For diffraction to be noticeable, the size of the obstacle or opening must be comparable to the wavelength of the wave. Since the wavelength of sound is much larger than that of light, it is easier to observe diffraction in sound waves.

4. **Practical Observation**:
- In practical terms, when sound waves encounter obstacles, they bend around them, allowing us to hear sounds even when there are barriers. For example, if person A speaks, person B can hear them despite a wall in between because the wavelength of sound is large enough to diffract around the wall.

5. **Visibility of Light**:
- In contrast, light waves have such small wavelengths that they do not diffract significantly around obstacles of a comparable size. This makes it difficult to observe diffraction patterns in light, as the effects are not pronounced enough to be seen with the naked eye.

6. **Conclusion**:
- Therefore, while both sound and light waves can undergo diffraction, the much smaller wavelength of light makes it more challenging to observe this phenomenon compared to sound waves.