For incomplete cancellation to occur, opposite pulses must have.
equal displacements
What does incomplete mean?
My book has an example or whatever and it says word for word: If the opposite pulses have unequal amplitudes, cancellation is incomplete.
my answer book may have a typo because my choices are:
A)equal amplitudes
B)different energies
C)equal pulses
D)equal displacements
I think A should read UNequal amplitudes and then I would choose that. I am reading the questions carefully that's how I figure out how to go about solving them and where to look in my book. If A is not a typo, is that still the answer? incomplete means not finished. I know what they mean in my book I hope you knew that already
To determine what condition opposite pulses must have for incomplete cancellation to occur, let's first understand what incomplete cancellation means in the context of pulses.
Pulses are disturbances or waves that propagate through a medium or space. When two pulses meet, they can interfere with each other and undergo either constructive interference or destructive interference.
Constructive interference occurs when the two pulses superpose (overlap) and their displacements add up, resulting in a larger displacement. In other words, the pulses reinforce each other.
Destructive interference occurs when the two pulses superpose and their displacements cancel each other out, resulting in a net displacement of zero. In simpler terms, the pulses "destroy" each other.
Now, let's focus on incomplete cancellation. This means that when opposite pulses meet, they do not fully cancel out each other's displacements, resulting in a residual or incomplete cancellation.
For incomplete cancellation to occur, the opposite pulses must have unequal displacements. Since they do not cancel each other completely, the net displacement after interference will have a nonzero value.
For example, if we consider two opposite pulses with displacements of +1 and -2, respectively, when they interfere, there will be an incomplete cancellation. The net displacement would be -1, indicating that the two pulses did not cancel each other fully.
In summary, for incomplete cancellation to occur, opposite pulses must have unequal displacements.