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What is meant by constructive and destructive interference

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User Ceryni
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In waveform physics, constructive and destructive interference describes the way two different waves interact with one another. If two waves are aligned such that the peaks of both are in the same spot, the waves experience constructive interference - the two add together and become a single, more powerful wave. The opposite happens if the peak of one meets the trough of the other - the two cancel each other out, and the magnitude of the combined wave is lesser than the individual waves. There are also other, more complex versions of interference if they don’t align cleanly, but the most common descriptions of interference are the ones described above.

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User Adam Paquette
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