DECEMBER MONTHLY TEST

A Level Physics presentation by Sotepy Keo

Chapter 13: Superposition of Waves

UNDERSTAND EXPLAIN RECALL AND USE

13.1 The principal of superposition of
waves
The main idea of this chapter: what happens when two or
more waves meet at a point in space and combine together.

When two waves meet, they combine, with the

displacements of the two waves adding together.

The graph in the next slide will give you an explanation.

A. Here, the displacement of
both waves is zero, and so the
resultant displacement must
also be zero. At position B, both
waves have positive
displacement. The resultant
displacement is found by
adding these together. At
position C, the displacement of
one wave is positive while the
The idea that we can find the resultant of two waves that meet
other is negative. The resultant
at a point simply by adding up the displacements at each
displacement lies between the
point is called the principle of superposition of waves. This
two displacements. In fact, the
principle can be
resultant displacement is the
applied to more than two waves and also to all types of
algebraic sum of the
waves. A statement of the principle of superposition is:
displacements of waves A and
When two or more waves meet at a point, the resultant
B; that is, their sum, taking
displacement is the algebraic sum of the displacements of
account of their signs (positive
the individual waves.
or negative).
13.2 Diffraction of waves
• a quick recall: do you think all types of waves e.g. sound and light can be reflected and
refracted or some waves only?
• Do you still remember what diffraction is?

Diffraction of sound and light

Diffraction effects are the greatest when waves pass through a gap with a width roughly equal
to their wavelength of waves. Sound waves in audible range have wavelengths from a few cm
to m. There are diffraction of sounds happening all the time in our environment. For example,
sound diffracts as they pass through doorways. The width of the doorway is comparable to the
wavelength of a sound so a noise in one room spreads out to the next room.
Visible light wavelength is shorter than sound (about 5×10-17). The most visible way that you
can see diffraction of light is when it passes through a hole or a slit in the wall.
Diffraction of radio waves
Radio waves can have wavelengths of the order of a kilometer. These waves are
easily diffracted by gaps in the hills and by the tall buildings around our towns
and cities. Microwaves, used by the mobile phone network, have wavelengths
of about 10 cm. These waves are not easily diffracted (because their
wavelengths are much smaller than the dimensions of the gaps) and mostly
travel through space in straight lines.

Cars need external radio aerials because radio waves have wavelengths longer
than the size of the windows, so they cannot diffract into the car. If you try
listening to a radio in a train without an external aerial, you will find that FM
signals can be picked up weakly (their wavelength is about 3 m), but AM
signals, with longer wavelengths, cannot get in at all.
Explaining
diffraction
Diffraction is a wave effect
that can be explained by the
principle of superposition.
• A plane ripple reaches a
gap in a barrier
• each point is moving up
and down
• Moving point/ source
• A lot a new ripple
• Use principle of
superposition to
calculate the resultant
• Some are added some
are cancelled out
13.2 Interference
Adding waves of different wavelength and amplitudes results in complex waves ( not sinusoidal waves ).

1. Explaining interference
When two loud speakers are connected to the same single generator, they emit wave that are in
phase. At each point in front of the loudspeakers, waves are arriving from two loudspeakers. At
some points, the two waves arrive in phase (in step) with one another and with equal amplitude.
The principal of superstition predicts that the resultant wave has twice the amplitude of a single
wave. This is why we hear a louder sound.
At other points, something different happens. The two waves arrive completely out of phase or
antiphase ( phase difference is 180o) with one another. There is a cancelling out, and the
resultant wave has zero amplitude. At this point, there is no sound. At other points again, the
waves are neither perfectly out of step nor perfectly in step, and the resultant wave has an
amplitude less than the loudest point.
Adding waves by the principle of superposition

Constructive interference: where two waves

arrive at a point in phase with one another so
that they add up, we call this effect
constructive inference.

Destructive interference: where two waves

arrive at a point not in phase with one another
they cancel out, this effect is known as
destructive interference.

Blue and orange waves of the same amplitude may give a

constructive or b destructive interference, depending on the
phase difference between them. c Waves of different
amplitudes can also interfere constructively.
2. Coherence
By connecting the two loudspeakers to the same signal
generator, we can be sure that the sound waves that they
produce are constantly in phase with one another. We say that
they act as two coherent sources of sound waves (coherent
means sticking together). The sound waves from the
loudspeakers has coherence. Coherent sources emit waves that
have a constant phase difference. Note that the two waves can
only have a constant phase difference if their frequency is the
same and remains constant.
13.4 The Young double slit experiment
The double-slit experiment can be used to determine
the wavelength λ of monochromatic light.
The following three quantities have to be measured:
• Slit separation a – This is the distance between the
centers of the slits, which is the distance between slits
1 and 2 in Figure 13.22.
• Fringe separation x – This is the distance between the
centers of adjacent bright (or dark) fringes, which is
the distance AC in Figure 13.22.
• Slit-to-screen distance D – This is the distance from
the midpoint of the slits to the central fringe on the
screen.
 The double slit equation:

• λ is the wavelength of the monochromatic light

incident normally at the double-slit.

• a is the separation between the centers of the

slits, x is the separation between the centers of
adjacent bright (or dark fringes )

• D is distance between the slits and the screen