If wavelength is just the distance between 2 consecutive waves, then shouldn’t waveheight be the determining factor on if it can reflect or pass through an object.

Question

For eg, in the wikipedia for radar, it says that they were only able to use radar with radio waves with a wavelength smaller than a plane’s length. But won’t wavelength be perpendicular to it’s direction of travel? But waveheigth is parallel, so won’t that be the deciding factor?

In: Physics

Answer 1

RF engineer here.

The answers you’re given in this theead kind of miss the point. I was in your shoes for a very long time, even after I finished my degree, since this is a very unintuitive concept. However, an answer on Physics Stack Exchange really helped my understanding:

https://physics.stackexchange.com/questions/125903/why-does-wavelength-affect-diffraction

Hope this helps! I’ll be glad to explain further if you have anything to ask about this link.