What is sound wave interference?

Answer 1

sound waves are anologe, ie nothing digital, there fore they can pick up inacuracies, because they are not regulated, therefore they may not be a perfect copy of the orginal like digital waves, these inacuacies are interferance

Answer 2

When two or more sound waves build up each other or impede each other, that's interference. When they build up, it's called constructive interference. When they subtract from each other, it's called destructive interference.

Suppose you have two waves. One goes as a = A sin(theta); the other as b = B sin(theta + 180). Theta = wt; where w is the angular velocity of the wave and t is the elapsed time. Theta runs from zero through 360 deg per cycle.

The resulting one wave (y) formed from when the two waves (a and b) interfere would be y = a + b = A sin(theta) + B sin(theta + 180). Thus, when theta = 0, y = 0 because both a and b = 0, and when theta = 90 deg, y = A - B Clearly there is destructive interference here because the amplitude of B is subtracted from A.

On the other hand suppose y = A sin(theta) + B sin(theta), when theta = 90 deg, y = A + B and there is constructive interference because they add up. In fact, in this special case we can write y = (A + B)sin(theta), which makes it clear the two waves add up throughout the angle theta.

Note that all waves, not just sound waves, have constructive and destruvtive interference capabilities. Light waves, for example, can interfere. Energy waves, too, can interfere. When waves interfere, they can form what are known as standing waves. This simply means the waves do not move horizontally while they are oscillating vertically.

Middle C on the piano is a standing wave. As are all the tones (keys) on a piano or any other musical instrument. Without interference, there would be no musical instruments and no cool sounds.

Good question.