Wave Interaction: Superposition and Interference

Section Key Terms

Superposition of Waves

Most waves do not look very simple. They look more like the waves in Figure 13.10, rather than the simple water wave considered in the previous sections, which has a perfect sinusoidal shape.

Figure 13.10 These waves result from the superposition of several waves from different sources, producing a complex pattern. (Waterborough, Wikimedia Commons)

Most waves appear complex because they result from two or more simple waves that combine as they come together at the same place at the same time—a phenomenon called superposition.

Waves superimpose by adding their disturbances; each disturbance corresponds to a force, and all the forces add. If the disturbances are along the same line, then the resulting wave is a simple addition of the disturbances of the individual waves, that is, their amplitudes add.

Wave Interference

The two special cases of superposition that produce the simplest results are pure constructive interference and pure destructive interference.

Pure constructive interference occurs when two identical waves arrive at the same point exactly in phase. When waves are exactly in phase, the crests of the two waves are precisely aligned, as are the troughs. Refer to Figure 13.11. Because the disturbances add, the pure constructive interference of two waves with the same amplitude produces a wave that has twice the amplitude of the two individual waves, but has the same wavelength.

Figure 13.11 The pure constructive interference of two identical waves produces a wave with twice the amplitude but the same wavelength.

Figure 13.12 shows two identical waves that arrive exactly out of phase—that is, precisely aligned crest to trough—producing pure destructive interference. Because the disturbances are in opposite directions for this superposition, the resulting amplitude is zero for pure destructive interference; that is, the waves completely cancel out each other.

Figure 13.12 The pure destructive interference of two identical waves produces zero amplitude, or complete cancellation.

While pure constructive interference and pure destructive interference can occur, they are not very common because they require precisely aligned identical waves. The superposition of most waves that we see in nature produces a combination of constructive and destructive interferences.

Waves that are not results of pure constructive or destructive interference can vary from place to place and time to time. The sound from a stereo, for example, can be loud in one spot and soft in another. The varying loudness means that the sound waves add partially constructively and partially destructively at different locations. A stereo has at least two speakers that create sound waves, and waves can reflect from walls. All these waves superimpose.

An example of sounds that vary over time from constructive to destructive is found in the combined whine of jet engines heard by a stationary passenger. The volume of the combined sound can fluctuate up and down as the sound from the two engines varies in time from constructive to destructive.

The two previous examples considered waves that are similar—both stereo speakers generate sound waves with the same amplitude and wavelength, as do the jet engines. But what happens when two waves that are not similar, that is, having different amplitudes and wavelengths, are superimposed? An example of the superposition of two dissimilar waves is shown in Figure 13.13. Here again, the disturbances add and subtract, but they produce an even more complicated-looking wave. The resultant wave from the combined disturbances of two dissimilar waves looks much different than the idealized sinusoidal shape of a periodic wave.

Figure 13.13 The superposition of nonidentical waves exhibits both constructive and destructive interferences.