State the principle of superposition of waves and illustrate it schematically.

Whenever two or more waves travelling through the same medium at the same time pass through each other, the net displacement of the medium at any point in space-time is simply given by the sum of the individual wave displacements.An easy way to illustrate this schematically would be by sketching both constructive and destructive cases using sine and cosine waves. More complicated waveforms could them be later also considered (square, triangular, etc...).

PV

Related Physics A Level answers

All answers ▸

Give examples of how the photoelectric effect supports the particle nature of light and defies the wave theory.


Why is 0°C ice more effective at cooling a drink than 0°C water of the same mass?


What is the optimum angle to throw a snowball for maximum horizontal displacement? (Ignore air resistance, assume the snowball is thrown level with the ground. The angle is measured from the ground up)


Discuss how the graph of orbital velocities in rotational galaxies against distance from the galactic centre implies the existence of dark matter.