Wave Interference
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Original Sim and Translations |
Topics
- Interference
- Double Slit
- Diffraction
- Waves
Description
Make waves with a dripping faucet, audio speaker, or laser! Add a second source to create an interference pattern. Put up a barrier to explore single-slit diffraction and double-slit interference.
Sample Learning Goals
- Make waves with water, sound, and light and see how they are related.
- Design an experiment to measure the speed of the wave.
- Create an interference pattern with two sources, and determine the ways to change the pattern.
- Find points of constructive and destructive interference by eye, and by using the detectors.
- Put up a barrier to see how the waves move through one or two slits. What sort of pattern do the slits create? How can you change this pattern?
- For light, predict the locations of the fringes that appear on the screen using d sin(θ) = mλ. Use the tape measure to verify your predictions.
Teacher Tips
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Overview of sim controls, model simplifications, and insights into student thinking ( PDF ). |
Teacher-Submitted Activities
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Authors | Level | Type | Subject |
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| Invention Lab_Wave Interference |
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Noah Podolefsky | HS UG-Intro |
Lab | Physics |
| Wave Interference (PreAP) |
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Elyse Zimmer | HS | Lab | Physics | |
| Wave Interference with Water Waves (AP) |
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Elyse Zimmer | HS | Lab | Physics | |
| How do PhET simulations fit in my middle school program? |
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Sarah Borenstein | MS | Other | Earth Science Chemistry Biology Physics |
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| Alignment of PhET sims with NGSS |
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Trish Loeblein | HS | Other | Chemistry Earth Science Physics Biology |
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| PhET Sims Aligned to the Chemistry Curriculum |
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Julia Chamberlain | HS UG-Intro |
Other | Chemistry | |
| MS and HS TEK to Sim Alignment | Elyse Zimmer | MS HS |
Other | Biology Chemistry Physics |
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| Mapping of PhET and IBDP Physics | Jaya Ramchandani | HS | Other | Physics | ||
| Wave Interference- Waves (Sound and Light) | Lonny Villalobos, M.Ed. | MS | Other Guided |
Earth Science Physics |
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| Waves on a String and Wave Interference Virtual Labs | Jennifer Hamilton | HS MS |
Guided Lab HW |
Physics |
Browse legacy activities.
The new HTML5 sims can run on iPads and Chromebooks, as well as PC, Mac, and Linux systems.
iPad:
iOS 11+ Safari
iPad compatible sims
Android:
Not officially supported. If you are using the HTML5 sims on Android, we recommend using the latest version of Google Chrome.
Chromebook:
Latest version of Google Chrome
The HTML5 and Flash PhET sims are supported on all Chromebooks.
Chromebook compatible sims
Windows Systems:
Microsoft Edge and Internet Explorer 11, latest version of Firefox, latest version of Google Chrome.
Macintosh Systems:
macOS 10.9.5+, Safari 9+, latest version of Chrome.
Linux Systems:
Not officially supported. Please contact phethelp@colorado.edu with troubleshooting issues.
| Design Team | Third-party Libraries | Thanks To |
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