Interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lower amplitude.

In physics, interference is a phenomenon in which two waves superpose to form a resultant wave of greater or lower amplitude. Interference usually refers to the interaction of waves that are correlated or coherent with each other, either because they come from the same source or because they have the same or nearly the same frequency. Interference effects can be observed with all types of waves, for example, light, radio, acoustic and surface water waves Mechanism:- nterference of waves from two point sources. Magnified-image of coloured interference-pattern in soap-film. The black "holes" are areas where the film is very thin and there is a nearly total destructive interference. The principle of superposition of waves states that when two or more propagating waves of same type are incident on the same point, the total displacement at that point is equal to the vector sum of the displacements of the individual waves. If a crest of a wave meets a crest of another wave of the same frequency at the same point, then the magnitude of the displacement is the sum of the individual magnitudes – this is constructive interference. If a crest of one wave meets a trough of another wave then the magnitude of the displacements is equal to the difference in the individual magnitudes – this is known as destructive interference. Resultant wave Interference of two waves.svg Wave 1 Wave 2 Constructive interference Destructive interference Constructive interference occurs when the phase difference between the waves is a multiple of 2p, whereas destructive interference occurs when the difference is an odd multiple of p. If the difference between the phases is intermediate between these two extremes, then the magnitude of the displacement of the summed waves lies between the minimum and maximum values. Consider, for example, what happens when two identical stones are dropped into a still pool of water at different locations. Each stone generates a circular wave propagating outwards from the point where the stone was dropped. When the two waves overlap, the net displacement at a particular point is the sum of the displacements of the individual waves. At some points, these will be in phase, and will produce a maximum displacement. In other places, the waves will be in anti-phase, and there will be no net displacement at these points. Thus, parts of the surface will be stationary—these are seen in the figure above and to the right as stationary blue-green lines radiating from the center.