What is the Superposition of Waves?
When two or more waves (i.e, light or sound) overlap with each other, the resultant displacement at any point and at any instant of time may be found by adding the instantaneous displacements that would be produced at the point by the individual waves if each were present alone this phenomenon is known as superposition of waves.
- Resultant wave = Sum of disturbances
- For electromagnetic waves, displacement is the Amplitude of electric field
The equation for the superposition of two waves with the same frequency and amplitude, but with a phase difference φ, is given by:
y = 2A cos(φ/2) cos(ωt + φ/2)
Where,
- y is the total displacement
- A is the amplitude of each individual wave
- ω is the angular frequency, and t is the time.
Coherent and Incoherent Addition of Waves
Coherent and Incoherent addition of waves are used in various fields of physics like acoustics, optics, and quantum mechanics. The waves adding up with each other can interfere either constructively or destructively, depending upon their phase differences and amplitudes. This phenomenon is known as the superposition of waves, which results from the coherent or incoherent addition of waves.
Table of Content
- What is the Superposition of Waves?
- What are Coherent Sources?
- What are Incoherent Sources?
- Derivation of Coherent and Incoherent Addition of Two Waves