6.
2 Interference of sound
6.2 Interference of sound
In this topic you will:
• find out how sound waves can reinforce each other to make
louder sounds
• find out how sound waves can cancel each other out to make
no sound
Getting started Key words
Work in groups. Key words
1 Each person in the group should draw a wave on a piece of interference
paper. reinforce
2 Compare all the waves that have been drawn in the group.
a Sort the waves in order from smallest amplitude to
largest amplitude.
b Sort the waves again, this time from smallest frequency
to largest frequency.
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6 Sound and space
Interference
Water waves are a useful analogy for sound waves. Particles in water
waves do not move in the same way as particles in a sound wave, but the
analogy helps explain how waves behave.
If you dip your finger in and out of water, you can make waves as shown
in the picture.
If you make two sets of water waves, you can watch what happens
when the waves meet each other. If you move your fingers at the same
frequency and with the same amplitude, you can make a pattern like the
one in the picture.
The effect that is produced when the waves meet each other is
called interference.
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6.2 Interference of sound
Sound waves also produce interference when they meet each other.
Interference can only happen when the waves are of the same type.
Sound waves can interfere with each other. Sound waves cannot interfere
with water waves.
Interference is easiest to detect when the waves have the same frequency
and the same amplitude.
Interference can produce two effects: the waves can reinforce or the
waves can cancel each other.
Waves that reinforce
The word reinforce means to make stronger.
If you look carefully at the picture of the water waves interfering, you
can see a pattern. Part of the pattern is made by waves reinforcing each
other. These parts appear with waves of larger amplitude than either
of the individual waves. In this pattern, there are only small areas with
waves that have reinforced.
Waves will reinforce, when they meet with the peaks together and with
the troughs together. This is shown in the diagram.
direction of wave movement direction of wave movement
+ =
Two waves can interfere to reinforce when the wave peaks are together.
If you look carefully at the diagram, you will see that:
• the amplitudes of the two waves that interfere are added together
• the frequency of the two waves that interfere does not change.
When sound waves interfere to reinforce, the amplitude of the sound
wave increases.
You will recall from the previous topic that the loudness of a sound wave
depends on its amplitude.
That means, that when two sound waves reinforce, the sound
becomes louder.
Sound waves can meet and reinforce where there are two sources of the
same sound.
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6 Sound and space
The picture shows the stage for a music concert. There are two
loudspeakers – one on either side of the stage.
At certain places in the audience, people may hear sounds of a
particular pitch louder than usual. This can be caused by the sound
waves from the two loudspeakers meeting and reinforcing.
loudspeakers
This diagram shows the pattern of sound waves that
could be produced from these loudspeakers.
The curved lines in the diagram represent peaks of
amplitude in the sound waves. Where two of these lines
cross, the waves will reinforce. A person at that position B A
will hear a louder sound.
Sound waves will also reinforce where two troughs of amplitude stage
meet, but this is difficult to show in the diagram.
It is not likely that the sound waves will ever completely cancel so people
hear nothing. This is because the sound waves will be reflected off
objects, including off people in the audience. These reflected sound waves
would add many more waves to the pattern in the diagram, making it
very unlikely that only two identical waves will be present to cancel.
Waves that cancel
Waves will cancel when they meet with the peaks and troughs together. The
word cancel in the context of waves means adding together to make zero.
Think of a peak as the wave’s maximum positive amplitude, and a trough
as the wave’s maximum negative amplitude. When you add a positive
number to a negative number of equal size, you get zero; for example,
2 + (−2) = 0.
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6.2 Interference of sound
This is shown in the diagram.
direction of wave movement
peak (+)
+ =
trough (−)
Two waves can interfere to cancel when the wave peaks of one meet troughs of another, of
equal amplitude.
If you look carefully at the diagram, you will see that the amplitudes of
the two waves that interfere are added together to become zero
When sound waves interfere to cancel, the amplitude of the sound wave
becomes zero, the result is no sound. For two sound waves to cancel
completely, their frequencies must be the same and their amplitudes
must be the same.
Noise cancelling headphones work by making sound waves cancel. The
headphones pick up the sound from the surroundings, then analyse the
sound wave and create another sound wave with the same amplitude and
frequency, but out of phase with the original wave This new sound wave
is used to cancel the sound wave from the surroundings. This is shown in
the diagram.
sound wave from
surroundings
small microphone
to pick up sound the headphones create a sound sound waves cancel
from surroundings wave that will cancel with the each other here
sound wave from the surroundings
Questions
1 a Which of these will always result in a louder sound being heard?
Write the letter.
A two sound waves cancel C two sound waves reflect
B two sound waves reinforce D two sound waves refract
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6 Sound and space
b Which of these will always result in no sound being heard?
Write the letter.
A two sound waves cancel C two sound waves reflect
B two sound waves reinforce D two sound waves refract
2 a Describe how two sound waves must meet in order
to reinforce.
b Describe how two sound waves must meet in order to cancel.
3 The table gives information for two waves that will meet to
reinforce. Copy the table and complete the missing information
about the one wave that is formed.
two waves before reinforcing one wave after reinforcing
frequency/Hz amplitude/mm frequency/Hz amplitude/mm
450 0.5
4 Two sound waves have equal frequencies of 600 Hz. The amplitude
of one of the waves is 0.25 mm.
a State the amplitude of the other wave required for the two
waves to cancel.
b State the amplitude after the waves cancel.
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