BRAINCAKEInterference
Interference is the pattern produced when waves from two sources superpose. For a steady pattern that you can observe, the sources must be coherent: they have the same frequency and a constant phase difference. Two loudspeakers connected to the same signal generator are coherent. Two separate light bulbs are not.
The result at a point depends on the path difference, the difference in the distances travelled by the two waves to reach that point. For two sources that are in phase:
maximum (constructive): path difference = nλ
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Key terms in this lesson
- superposition
- The principle that when two or more waves meet, the resultant displacement at any point is the vector sum of their individual displacements there.
More in Waves
- Transverse and Longitudinal Waves
- Earthquakes
- Phase and Phase Difference
- Superposition
- Progressive Waves
- Stationary Waves
- Demonstrating Stationary Waves
- Waves on a Stretched String
All 22 lessons in Waves · All Edexcel AS-level Physics topics