Re: [Phys-L] A waves question

[Andre Adler <andre.adler@gmail.com>]

Destructive interference does not necessarily occur every the individual waves are, but if it is a standing wave, such as on a rope, the rope has kinetic energy of motion (except at the nodes).

On Jun 22, 2012, at 1:33 PM, Peter Schoch wrote:

> A fairly inquisitive student came up with the following question, and I thought I'd get the reaction of the list as to the best answer.
>
> The course is "Liberal Arts Physics" -- designed as a survey course for those LA majors that need one semester of a science.  The theme was energy conservation (a bit broad, and I would narrow it a bit next time I do it).
>
> We are discussing waves.  The student asked the following (more or less)
>
> If a wave can transit energy that is proportional to its amplitude squared, and energy can't be created or destroyed, what happens to the energy when two waves destructively interfere?
>
>
> Peter Schoch
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