WheatNeat
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- Why does the relationship between the mass density of the strings determine the phase of the reflected wave?
I just started learning about waves from an introductory calculus-based textbook (HRK) and there was a part describing what happens when a wave on a string transmits into another string (with different mass density). It said that if the wave is going into a string with a larger mass density, the reflected wave has a phase difference of 180 degrees with the original, and a phase difference of 0 if the wave is going into a string with a smaller mass density. But I don't understand why this is the case. I understand that a reflected wave from a foxed point has to have a phase difference of 180 because the fixed point can't have displacement, but I don't understand how it has to be 180 in this case. Why does the relationship between the mass density of the strings determine the phase of the reflected wave?
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