When I was taking a bath the other day, I squeezed the water out of my hair in the bathtub and noticed interference patterns forming from the droplets of water. There were regions of dark and bright interference. I realized that I could create my own constructive and destructive interference patterns. Today, I decided to try creating them again in my sink. In the picture, you can see waves of constructive and destructive interference. They remind me of waves in the ocean. The higher points (crests) are constructive interference and the lower points (troughs) are destructive interference. The shape of the medium can be determined by the sum of the amplitude of interfering waves. Constructive interference occurs when a crest meets a crest, creating yet a bigger crest. Destructive interference occurs when a crest meets a trough or vice versa, creating very small peaks. From doing this little experiment, I learned first hand how waves are created and what constructive and destructive interference look like.
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