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The following animated gifs illustrate the patterns of constructive and destructive interference that are produced by two point sources. For sources of the same frequency, increasing the source separation increases the spatial frequency of the beams of constructive interference. Sources of different frequency produce a spatial pattern that changes at the beat (difference) frequency of the sources.
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Source
separation
1 wavelength |
Source
separation
2 wavelengths |
Source
separation
4 wavelengths |
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Right
frequency = 5/4 Left frequency
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©2001
by A. John Mallinckrodt Many documents are provided in ".pdf" format. Click here to get the free Acrobat Reader application. |
The space for this page is provided by Cal Poly Pomona and is subject to its policies. Nevertheless, the opinions expressed here are my own and do not necessarily represent official policy of the University. I take full responsibility for the information presented and will appreciate being informed of errors or inaccuracies. Last modified on 5 February, 2004 |
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