Dictionary

interference

When waves meet and are superimposed, they can amplify or dampen each other. These superposition effects are called interference effects: Wherever a wave-crest meets a wave-crest, a higher wave-crest results (constructive interference); when a wave-crest meets a trough, there can be a complete cancellation between the two (destructive interference).

Interference can happen among electromagnetic waves (such as light), but also among water waves and among sound waves.