A standing wave is formed by two identical waves moving in opposite directions, causing energy to interfere and create a wave that appears to vibrate in place. The energy, not the medium, travels in a wave. The amplitude of a standing wave remains in the same place, with nodes canceling out opposing movements and antinodes appearing where energy from each side doubles.
A standing wave is a wave that appears to vibrate in place rather than move forward. It is caused by the interaction of two identical waves moving in opposite directions along the same medium. The resulting displacements are twice as large as those caused by a single wave. They don’t move along the medium, but appear to stay at set points along the line.
A wave is any energetic disturbance that travels from one place to another along a medium. Many materials can act as a medium. Water is a common example, but waves can also travel through ropes, air, and many other substances. Earthquakes are caused by seismic waves moving through the layers of the planet.
It’s important to note that it is energy, not the medium, that travels in a wave. If two people are standing in a gym holding a jump rope taught between them, one of the people can move the rope up and down, causing a wave to move through the jump rope. The rope moves up and down or side to side, but does not move across the gym. What is transported is the energy, not the medium.
A standing wave forms when energy moves in two directions at the same time. It is as if both people holding the rope start moving it up and down at the same time. Energy travels from each end to the opposite side. When energy from one side meets energy from the other side, they interfere with each other, causing a standing wave.
The amplitude of a wave is the distance between its highest point and the equilibrium point. This highest point is called the antinode. In most waves, the antinode appears to move along the length of the medium. With a standing wave, the antinode remains in the same place, because interference between energies moving in opposite directions always occurs at the same place. This also applies to nodes, or points of least displacement.
Nodes appear where the energy on one side is moving up while the energy on the other side is moving down. The opposing movements cancel each other out. Conversely, the antinodes of a standing wave appear at the points where the energy from each side moves up or down to the same point. The energy in this case is doubled, making the movement more pronounced. The antinodes are always equally spaced midway between the nodes.
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