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=== Interference === {{Main|Wave interference}} [[Image:Two sources interference.gif|right|frame|Identical waves from two sources undergoing [[Interference (wave propagation)|interference]]. Observed at the bottom one sees 5 positions where the waves add in phase, but in between which they are out of phase and cancel.]] When waves in a linear medium (the usual case) cross each other in a region of space, they do not actually interact with each other, but continue on as if the other one were not present. However at any point ''in'' that region the ''field quantities'' describing those waves add according to the [[superposition principle]]. If the waves are of the same frequency in a fixed [[phase (waves)|phase]] relationship, then there will generally be positions at which the two waves are ''in phase'' and their amplitudes ''add'', and other positions where they are ''out of phase'' and their amplitudes (partially or fully) ''cancel''. This is called an [[Interference (wave propagation)|interference pattern]].
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