Ripple Interference

About this simulation

Ripple Interference shows two in-phase sources producing circular waves on a grid about 28 meters wide. Students change the frequency and the separation, and can highlight the bright lines where crests meet crests. Readouts give the wavelength, the number of bright lines and the number of calm lines. It teaches superposition, constructive and destructive interference, and how path difference determines the pattern, and prepares students for double-slit ideas in light and sound.

What students can explore

Raise Frequency and watch the Wavelength readout shrink.
Increase Separation and count how the Bright lines readout changes.
Turn Show bright lines on to trace where constructive interference occurs.
Find a calm line and explain why crests and troughs cancel there.
Drag to orbit the surface and view the pattern from the side.

Learning objectives

1Define constructive and destructive interference.
2Relate wavelength to frequency using v = f times lambda.
3Explain how path difference creates bright and calm lines.
4Predict how source separation changes the number of lines.

Questions teachers ask

Is the Ripple Interference simulation free?

Yes. It is free, requires no sign-up and runs in any modern browser, including classroom whiteboards and tablets.

Why are there calm lines?

Along those lines a crest from one source arrives with a trough from the other, so they cancel. The path difference there is a half wavelength plus a whole number of wavelengths.

How do I use it?

Set the frequency and the separation of the two sources, then toggle the bright lines. Drag to orbit the water and read the wavelength and line counts.

What happens when the sources get closer?

The lines spread farther apart and fewer of them fit on the surface. With a separation smaller than one wavelength only a single bright line remains.

Embed this simulation

Drop it into your LMS, blog, or class site — free.

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