# standing waves Definition and Topics - 40 Discussions

In physics, a standing wave, also known as a stationary wave, is a wave which oscillates in time but whose peak amplitude profile does not move in space. The peak amplitude of the wave oscillations at any point in space is constant with time, and the oscillations at different points throughout the wave are in phase. The locations at which the absolute value of the amplitude is minimum are called nodes, and the locations where the absolute value of the amplitude is maximum are called antinodes.
Standing waves were first noticed by Michael Faraday in 1831. Faraday observed standing waves on the surface of a liquid in a vibrating container. Franz Melde coined the term "standing wave" (German: stehende Welle or Stehwelle) around 1860 and demonstrated the phenomenon in his classic experiment with vibrating strings.This phenomenon can occur because the medium is moving in the opposite direction to the wave, or it can arise in a stationary medium as a result of interference between two waves traveling in opposite directions. The most common cause of standing waves is the phenomenon of resonance, in which standing waves occur inside a resonator due to interference between waves reflected back and forth at the resonator's resonant frequency.
For waves of equal amplitude traveling in opposing directions, there is on average no net propagation of energy.

View More On Wikipedia.org
1. ### Displacement nodes for overtones

(4 / 3) * (1.8) = 2.4 = lambda 1st overtone: 2.4 / 4 = .6; (2.4 * 3) / 4 = 1.8
2. ### Standing waves between two speakers in phase

The solution provided in the manual poses that the point halfway between the nodes at each speaker is an antinode of pressure (node of displacement) but isn't that a contradiction to the fact that the speakers are in phase? My first thought was that they must interfere constructively and have...
3. ### I How does a standing wave form?

I understand how waves undergo superposition. However, for a standing wave, the reflected wave is a mirror opposite of the incoming wave. By the superposition principle, won’t the 2 waves add up to 0, at all points?

29. ### No mass for mass per unit length

Homework Statement A ski gondola is connected to the top of a hill by a steel cable of length L and radius R . As the gondola comes to the end of its run, it bumps into the terminal and sends a wave pulse along the cable. It is observed that it took T seconds for the pulse to return. What is...
30. ### Goniometers and Standing Waves

Homework Statement Initially your receiver is positioned at a distance of 8.4 cm from the goniometer and recording a maximum intensity. You move it through 10 minimums in the intensity and then stop at the next maximum intensity. The receiver is now a distance of 27.3 cm from the goniometer...