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Which evidence justified waves becoming the new scientific consensus to explain optical phenomena in the early 1800s? (1 point)

• Wave experiments had been most recently undertaken.
Researchers observed different refraction angles when light passed through a prism.
• A scientist observed that an interference pattern formed when light passed through two narrow slits.
• Multiple experiments demonstrated the wave nature of diffracted light.

1 answer

The evidence that justified waves becoming the new scientific consensus to explain optical phenomena in the early 1800s was:

• A scientist observed that an interference pattern formed when light passed through two narrow slits.

This experiment, famously conducted by Thomas Young in 1801, provided strong evidence for the wave nature of light, as the interference pattern could only be explained by considering light as a wave rather than a particle.