Sunday, March 16, 2008

Ripples in the Pool


On Saturday, my mom and I decided to go for a swim at the pool; since swimming season ended, I haven't exercised at all, unless you count our many exhausting but enjoyable band rehearsals, so I needed it. But as I was leisurly walking/floating back to the wall after trying some distance breastroke pulldowns, I thought to myself, "Hey, I wanna try making ripples like in Physics!" I then began playing with my fingers, hands, and the already ripply surface of the water to try to see the two circular waves converge and form higher troughs and peaks due to constructive wave interference, as well as regions of destructive interference. As the waves first began to expand outward, I noticed very large peaks forming, and then more formed, I saw the regions of destructive interference. Had I been able to freeze time and place a sheet of waterproof paper to record the heights at the convergence region parallel to the connection of the radii, I would have seen regions of both constructive (in a 180 degree phase difference with each other, as one peak hits with one trough on the other)and destructive interference. These regions would correspond to the light and dark regions of double slit interference with light as well. Wow, I guess there's one more reason to go to the pool on weekends: Physics in action! :-)

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