Adding waves together -- simple version

(Let's start with a topic we didn't quite finish last time)

Even though no piece of matter follows a wave as it propagates through a medium -- the material itself simply oscillates back and forth -- the wave can transmit energy and momentum from one location to another.

• How much energy does a wave transmit?

Okay, now we can discuss "What happens when two waves meet?"

• Adding waves together
  In general, the result is the sum of the original waves. In the very special case that the two waves have the same frequency and the same amplitude, then there is a simple result ....

  Perhaps you might recognize a real-world application of this special result:

  • Consumer devices for adding waves with the same frequency and (almost) same amplitude

  What happens when the waves have different amplitudes? We'll find out in just a few days.

• The special case of standing waves

Now for some fun examples of resonance and standing waves in the real world.

• Reubens tube demo
• Resonance and standing waves on a 2-D plate

Copyright © Michael Richmond. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License.