Editing Wave interference (section)

{{Short description|Phenomenon resulting from the superposition of two waves}}
{{For|interference in radio communications|Interference (communication)}}
{{Redirect|Interference pattern|Moiré patterns|Moiré pattern|the medical term|Interference pattern (electromyography)}}
{{Technical|date=February 2022}}
[[File:Interference of two waves.svg|class=skin-invert-image|frame|The interference of two waves. [[In phase]]: the two lower waves combine (left panel), resulting in a wave of added amplitude ({{em|constructive}} interference). [[Out of phase]]: (here by 180 degrees), the two lower waves combine (right panel), resulting in a wave of zero amplitude ({{em|destructive}} interference).|alt=When two or more waves travel through a medium and superpose then the resultant intensity do not distributed uniformly in the space. At some places, it is maximum while at some other places it is minimum. This non uniform distribution of intensity or energy of light is known as interference.]]
[[File:Interfering surface waves on a lake.jpg|thumb|Interfering water waves on the surface of a lake]]

In [[physics]], '''interference''' is a phenomenon in which two [[coherence (physics)|coherent]] [[wave]]s are combined by adding their intensities or displacements with due consideration for their [[phase (waves)|phase difference]]. The resultant wave may have greater amplitude ('''constructive interference''') or lower amplitude ('''destructive interference''') if the two waves are in phase or out of phase, respectively.
Interference effects can be observed with all types of waves, for example, [[Light wave|light]], [[Radio wave|radio]], [[sound wave|acoustic]], [[surface wave|surface water waves]], [[gravity wave]]s, or [[matter wave]]s as well as in loudspeakers as electrical waves.