High School Photo Winner's Showcase

School: Squalicum Highschool

Teacher: John Chesbrough

In this picture you can see three different standing waves. The top one has only two nodes and one antinode, the middle one has three nodes and two antinodes, and finally the bottom one has 4 nodes and 3 antinodes. They are formed by oscillating the same length of christmas lights at different frequencies. When the correct frequency is found the wave reflects upside down and travel in the opposite direction. The standing wave may be understood through superposition. When incident reflects and travels in the opposite direction and meets another wave they cancel, otherwise known as destructive interference. This cause the node to form. When a wave, traveling in the opposite direction of another, is on the same side of the strand their amplitudes add together and they become one bigger wave, which causes antinodes to form or otherwise known as constructive interference.