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 the spreading of waves when they pass through small openings. It occurs for both light and sound waves.

2. **Wavelength Consideration**:
- For diffraction to be noticeable, the wavelength of the wave must be comparable to the size of the obstacle or opening. This means that if the wavelength is much smaller than the obstacle, diffraction will be minimal.

3. **Wavelength of Light vs. Sound**:
- The wavelength of light waves is in the range of \(10^{-9}\) to \(10^{-10}\) meters (nanometers), while the wavelength of sound waves is approximately \(10^{-1}\) to \(10^{-2}\) meters (centimeters to meters).

4. **Size of Obstacles**:
- To observe diffraction with light, the size of the obstacle or slit must be on the order of the wavelength of light, which is extremely small (nanometer scale). Creating such small slits or obstacles is technically challenging.
- In contrast, sound waves have much larger wavelengths, allowing for the use of larger obstacles or slits (centimeter to meter scale) that are easier to create and manipulate.

5. **Conclusion**:
- Due to the significantly smaller wavelengths of light compared to sound, it is more difficult to create suitable obstacles or slits for observing diffraction with light waves. Thus, while both types of waves exhibit diffraction, it is much easier to observe diffraction patterns with sound waves than with light waves.