Section 4

Wave Interactions Objectives

Apply the superposition
principle.

Key Terms Differentiate between

constructive interference standing wave antinode constructive and destructive
destructive interference node interference.

Predict when a reflected wave

Wave Interference will be inverted.
When two bumper boats collide, as shown in Figure 4.1, each bounces back
Predict whether specific
in another direction. The two bumper boats cannot occupy the same
traveling waves will produce
space, and so they are forced to change the direction of their motion. This
a standing wave.
is true not just of bumper boats but of all matter. Two different material
objects can never occupy the same space at the same time. Identify nodes and antinodes of
a standing wave.
Figure 4.1

Bumper
Boats Two of
these bumper boats
cannot be in the
same place at one
time. Waves, on the
other hand, can pass
through one another.

When two waves come together, they do not bounce back as bumper
(br) ©Richard Megna/Fundamental Photographs, New York; (c) ©Sandra Mu/Getty Images

boats do. If you listen carefully at a concert, you can distinguish the
sounds of different instruments. Trumpet sounds are different from flute
sounds, even when the two instruments are played at the same time. The
Figure 4.2
sound waves of each instrument are unaffected by the other waves that
are passing through the same space at the same moment. Because Wave Interference This ripple
mechanical waves are not matter but rather are displacements of matter, tank demonstrates the interference of
two waves can occupy the same space at the same time. The combination water waves.
of two overlapping waves is called superposition.
Figure 4.2 shows two sets of water waves in a ripple tank. As the waves
move outward from their respective sources, they pass through one
another. As they pass through one another, the waves interact to form an
interference pattern of light and dark bands. Although this superposition
of mechanical waves is fairly easy to observe, these are not the only kind
of waves that can pass through the same space at the same time. Visible
light and other forms of electromagnetic radiation also undergo
superposition, and they can interact to form interference patterns.

Vibrations and Waves 385

 Figure 4.3

Constructive
Interference When these two
wave pulses meet, the displacements
at each point add up to form a
resultant wave. This is an example of
constructive interference.
(a) (a) (c) (c)

(b) (b) (d) (d)

Displacements in the same direction produce

constructive interference.
In Figure 4.3(a), two wave pulses are traveling toward each other on a
stretched rope. The larger pulse is moving to the right, while the smaller
pulse moves toward the left. At the moment the two wave pulses meet, a
resultant wave is formed, as shown in Figure 4.3(b).
At each point along the rope, the displacements due to the two pulses
are added together, and the result is the displacement of the resultant
wave. For example, when the two pulses exactly coincide, as they do in
Figure 4.3(c), the amplitude of the resultant wave is equal to the sum of the
amplitudes of each pulse. This method of summing the displacements of
waves is known as the super­position principle. According to this principle,
when two or more waves travel through a medium at the same time, the
resultant wave is the sum of the displacements of the individual waves at
each point. Ideally, the superposition principle holds true for all types of
waves, both mechanical and electromagnetic. However, experiments
show that in reality the superposition principle is valid only when the
individual waves have small amplitudes—an assumption we make in all
our examples.
Notice that after the two pulses pass through each other, each pulse
has the same shape it had before the waves met and each is still traveling
in the same direction, as shown in Figure 4.3(d). This is true for sound
waves at a concert, water waves in a pond, light waves, and other types of
waves. Each wave maintains its own characteristics after interference, just
as the two pulses do in our example above.
You have seen that when more than one wave travels through the
constructive interference same space at the same time, the resultant wave is equal to the sum of the
a superposition of two or more waves in individual displacements. If the displacements are on the same side of
which individual displacements on the
equilibrium, as in Figure 4.3, they have the same sign. When added
same side of the equilibrium position
are added together to form the together, the resultant wave is larger than the individual displacements.
resultant wave This is called constructive interference.

386 Chapter 11
Figure 4.4

Destructive Interference In
this case, known as destructive
interference, the displacement of
one pulse is subtracted from the
displacement of the other.
(a) (a) (c) (c)

(b) (b) (d) (d)

Displacements in opposite directions produce

destructive interference.
What happens if the pulses are on opposite sides of the equilibrium
position, as they are in Figure 4.4(a)? In this case, the displacements have
different signs, one positive and one negative. When the positive and
negative displacements are added, as shown in Figure 4.4(b) and (c), the
resultant wave is the difference between the pulses. This is called
destructive interference. After the pulses separate, their shapes are destructive interference
unchanged, as seen in Figure 4.4(d). a superposition of two or more waves
in which individual displacements on
Figure 4.5 shows two pulses of equal amplitude but with displacements opposite sides of the equilibrium
of opposite signs. When the two pulses coincide and the displacements position are added together to form
the resultant wave
are added, the resultant wave has a displacement of zero. In other words,
at the instant the two pulses overlap, they completely cancel each other;
it is as if there were no disturbance at all. This situation is known as
complete destructive interference. Figure 4.5
If these waves were water waves coming together, one of the waves
Complete Destructive
would be acting to pull an individual drop of water upward at the same Interference The resultant
instant and with the same force that another wave would be acting to pull displacement at each point of the
it downward. The result would be no net force on the drop, and there string is zero, so the two pulses
would be no net displacement of the water at that moment. cancel one another. This is complete
Thus far, we have considered the interference produced by two destructive interference.
transverse pulse waves. The superposition principle is valid for longitudi-
nal waves as well. In a compression, particles are moved closer together,
while in a rar­­­e­faction, particles are spread farther apart. So, when a
compression and a rarefaction interfere, there is destructive interference.
In our examples, we have considered constructive and destructive
interference separately, and we have dealt only with pulse waves. With
periodic waves, complicated patterns arise that involve regions of con-
structive and destructive interference. The locations of these regions may
remain fixed or may vary with time as the individual waves travel.

Vibrations and Waves 387

 Reflection
In our discussion of waves so far, we have assumed that the waves being
analyzed could travel indefinitely without striking anything that would
stop them or otherwise change their motion. But what happens to the
motion of a wave when it reaches a boundary?

At a free boundary, waves are reflected.

Consider a pulse wave traveling on a stretched rope whose end forms a
ring around a post, as shown in Figure 4.6(a). We will assume that the ring
is free to slide along the post without friction.
As the pulse travels to the right, each point of the rope moves up once
and then back down. When the pulse reaches the boundary, the rope is
free to move up as usual, and it pulls the ring up with it. Then, the ring is
pulled back down by the tension in the rope. The movement of the rope
at the post is similar to the movement that would result if someone were
to whip the rope upward to send a pulse to the left, which would cause a
pulse to travel­back along the rope to the left. This is called reflection.
Note that the reflected pulse is upright and has the same amplitude as
the incident pulse.

At a fixed boundary, waves are reflected and inverted.

Now consider a pulse traveling on a stretched rope that is fixed at one
end, as in Figure 4.6(b). When the pulse reaches the wall, the rope exerts an
upward force on the wall, and the wall in turn exerts an equal and oppo-
site reaction force on the rope. This downward force on the rope causes a
displacement in the direction opposite the displacement of the original
pulse. As a result, the pulse is inverted after reflection.

Figure 4.6

Reflection of a Pulse Wave

Incident
Incident Incident
Incident
(a) When a pulse travels down a pulse
pulse pulse
pulse
rope whose end is free to slide up
the post, the pulse is reflected from
the free end.
(b) When a pulse travels down
a rope that is fixed at one end, the
reflected pulse is inverted.

Reflected
Reflected
pulse
pulse

Reflected
Reflected
(a)(a) (b)(b) pulse
pulse

388 Chapter 11
 Standing Waves
Consider a string that is attached on one end to a rigid support and that is
shaken up and down in a regular motion at the other end. The regular
motion produces waves of a certain frequency, wavelength, and ampli-
tude traveling down the string. When the waves reach the other end, they
are reflected back toward the oncoming waves. If the string is vibrated at
exactly the right frequency, a standing wave—a resultant wave pattern standing wave a wave pattern that
that appears to be stationary on the string—is produced. The standing results when two waves of the same
frequency, wavelength, and amplitude
wave consists of alternating regions of constructive and destructive travel in opposite directions and
interference. interfere

Standing waves have nodes and antinodes.

Figure 4.7(a) shows four possible standing waves for a given string length.
The points at which complete destructive interference happens are called
nodes. There is no motion in the string at the nodes. But midway between node a point in a standing wave that
two adjacent nodes, the string vibrates with the largest amplitude. These maintains zero displacement
points are called antinodes. antinode a point in a standing wave,
halfway between two nodes, at which
Figure 4.7(b) shows the oscillation of the second case shown in the largest displacement occurs
Figure 4.7(a) during half a cycle. All points on the string oscillate vertically
with the same frequency, except for the nodes, which are stationary. In
this case, there are three nodes (N) and two antinodes (A), as illustrated
in the figure.

Figure 4.7

Standing Waves (a) This photograph shows four possible (b) The diagram shows the progression of the second standing wave
standing waves that can exist on a given string. for one-half of a cycle.

A
N
N N
t=0
A

1
t = –8 T

1
t = –4 T
©Richard Megna/Fundamental Photographs, New York

3
t = –8 T

1
t = –2 T

(b)

(a)
Vibrations and Waves 389
 Figure 4.8 Only certain frequencies, and therefore wavelengths, produce standing
wave patterns. Figure 4.8 shows standing waves for a given string length.
Frequency and Standing Waves In each case, the curves represent the position of the string at different
Only certain frequencies produce standing instants of time. If the string were vibrating rapidly, the several positions
waves on this fixed string. The wavelength would blur together and give the appearance of loops, like those shown in
of these standing waves depends on the
the diagram. A single loop corresponds to either a crest or trough alone,
string length. Possible wavelengths include
while two loops correspond to a crest and a trough together, or one
2L (b), L (c), and ​ __23 ​L (d).
wavelength.
L The ends of the string must be nodes because these points cannot
vibrate. As you can see in Figure 4.8, a standing wave can be produced for
(a) any wavelength that allows both ends of the string to be nodes. For
example, in Figure 4.8(b), each end is a node, and there are no nodes in
between. Because a single loop corresponds to either a crest or trough
alone, this standing wave corresponds to one-half of a wavelength. Thus,
(b) the wavelength in this case is equal to twice the string length (2L).
The next possible standing wave, shown in Figure 4.8(c), has three
nodes: one at either end and one in the middle. In this case, there are two
loops, which correspond to a crest and a trough. Thus, this standing wave
(c)
has a wavelength equal to the string length (L). The next case, shown in
Figure 4.8(d), has a wavelength equal to two-thirds of the string length ​ __ ( )
​ 23 ​L ​,
and the pattern continues. Wavelengths between the values shown here
do not produce standing waves because they allow only one end of the
(d)
string to be a node.

Section 4 Formative ASSESSMENT

Reviewing Main Ideas
1. A
 wave of amplitude 0.30 m interferes with a second wave of amplitude
0.20 m. What is the largest resultant displacement that may occur?
2. A
 string is rigidly attached to a post at one end. Several pulses of
amplitude 0.15 m sent down the string are reflected at the post and travel
back down the string without a loss of amplitude. What is the amplitude
at a point on the string where the maximum displacement points of two
pulses cross? What type of interference is this?
3. H
 ow would your answer to item 2 change if the same pulses were sent
down a string whose end is free? What type of interference is this? (b) ©Richard Megna/Fundamental Photographs, New York

4. A
 stretched string fixed at both ends is 2.0 m long. What are three wave-
lengths that will produce standing waves on this string? Name at least one
wavelength that would not produce a standing wave pattern, and explain
your answer.

Interpreting Graphics Figure 4.9

5. Look at the standing wave shown A Standing Wave

in Figure 4.9. How many nodes
does this wave have? How many
antinodes?

390 Chapter 11