diffraction
When a series of straight waves strike an impenetrable barrier, the waves stop at the barrier. However, the last particle of the medium at the back corner of the barrier will create circular waves from that point, called the point source. This can be seen in the image below. This phenomenon is called diffraction , and it occurs in liquid, sound, and light waves. While the waves become circular waves at the point source, they continue as straight waves where the barrier does not interfere with the waves.