Wave interference in 3D
Compare circular ripples, superposition and transverse displacement. Explore the 3D model, inspect its parts and learn with guided explanations. Free on Atlas.
What you can learn
Compare circular ripples, superposition and transverse displacement.
Find the two in-phase drivers.
Separate a crest from the medium.
Add displacements, including their signs.
Try an investigation
Find the two in-phase drivers. Then compare circular wavefronts with superposition. Explain what the visible structures show and what the model leaves out.
Check your understanding
What is added in superposition?
Signed displacements. Signed displacements. The separate side profiles show two opposite-phase waves. A crest in one matches a trough in the other, so the gold resultant lies at zero. This panel differs deliberately from the in-phase sources in the tank above.
The gold straight profile represents…
Cancellation of opposite displacements. Cancellation of opposite displacements. The separate side profiles show two opposite-phase waves. A crest in one matches a trough in the other, so the gold resultant lies at zero. This panel differs deliberately from the in-phase sources in the tank above.
The coloured wavefront rings are…
Phase guides. Phase guides. The coloured circles mark reference wavefronts around each driver. They identify phase positions, not solid rings carried outwards. The simplified pattern omits reflection at the tank wall and the weakening of ripples with distance.
Sources and model scope
Frozen analytical wave snapshot and a separate opposite-phase profile. Not a time animation or a fluid simulation; water-particle trajectories, damping and boundaries are simplified.