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Claiming that light "bends" can be misleading because it suggests that the individual photons or light waves are inherently curving or changing direction on their own. In reality, the phenomena that cause changes in the path of light involve interactions with materials or wavefront properties, where the fundamental movement of photons remains in straight lines. This illustrates why saying light "bends" can be misleading:

1. Straight-Line Travel:
- Core Concept: Photons, the particles of light, travel in straight lines unless they interact with a medium or particles.
- Misleading Aspect: Using the term "bend" suggests that photons deviate from straight-line motion intrinsically, which is not accurate.

2. Refraction:
- Mechanism: Refraction occurs when light changes speed as it moves from one medium to another, resulting in a change in direction at the interface.
- Photon Perspective: Photons travel in straight lines within each medium. The "bending" occurs only at the boundary where the speed changes, not as a continuous curve.
- Misleading Interpretation: Describing this as bending overlooks the fact that photons are still moving in straight lines within each medium, and only their path changes direction at specific points.

3. Diffraction:
- Mechanism: Diffraction involves the spreading of waves around obstacles or through openings, leading to interference patterns.
- Photon Perspective: Photons travel in straight paths, but the overall wavefront appears to bend due to constructive and destructive interference.
- Misleading Interpretation: Saying light bends here ignores the straight-line travel of individual photons and the wave nature responsible for the observed pattern.

4. Scattering:
- Mechanism: Scattering involves photons being deflected by particles in different directions.
- Photon Perspective: Each photon travels in a straight line until it interacts with a particle, causing a change in direction.
- Misleading Interpretation: Describing this as bending conflates the redirection of photons due to interactions with an inherent curvature in their path.

5. Precise Terminology:
- Importance: Using precise terminology helps avoid misconceptions about the nature of light and its behavior.
- Alternative Phrasing: Instead of "bending," terms like "changing direction," "redirecting," "refracted," or "diffracted" more accurately describe the phenomena without implying an intrinsic curving motion.

In summary, while the observed path of light can appear to bend due to interactions with different media or obstacles, the photons themselves always travel in straight lines between these interactions. Thus, saying light "bends" oversimplifies and misrepresents the actual physics involved.