Constructive Interference
- Waves overlap in phase (crests and troughs align).
- Individual wave amplitudes add together.
- Resultant wave has a larger amplitude.
- Increases intensity or loudness of the resultant wave.
Let us consider two waves that are travelling at the same velocity. Since these two waves travel at the same velocity and meet at a particular point. Let’s analyze the resultant amplitude of the wave which originates after the superposition of these waves. Assuming that the equations for displacement produced by both the waves are the same and are given by,
y1 = acos(ωt)
y2 = acos(ωt)
Now using the principle of superposition to find the resultant displacement (y).
y = y1 + y2
y = acos(ωt) + acos(ωt)
y = 2acos(ωt)
It’s known that the intensity is proportional to the square of the amplitude. Since amplitude, in this case, becomes twice the original amplitude. The resulting intensity is given by
I = 4I0
where
I0 is the intensity of the original wave
Principle of Superposition of Waves
When two waves propagating in the same medium interfere with each other the amplitude of the resultant of the two waves is the vector sum of the amplitude of the two waves, this is called the Principle of Superposition of Waves.
Waves are disturbances that transfer energy between two points without there being actual contact between the two points. We are completely surrounded by waves and these are used for performing a variety of tasks in our daily life.
We encounter different types of such as Radio waves, Light waves, Microwaves and others on a regular basis. The superposition of waves is the process of adding different waves together and finding their results.
In this article, we will learn about the Superposition of Waves and others in detail.
Table of Content
- What is Superposition of Waves?
- Principle of Superposition
- Types of Superposition of Waves
- Constructive Interference
- Destructive Interference
- Resultant Intensity in Interference of Two Waves
- What is Interference of Light?
- Solved Examples on Superposition of Waves