Interaction of two pulses: Qualitative Observational Experiment

Aim

Come up with a rule to describe how two pulses interact with each other.

Prior Knowledge

• Vectors, addition of vectors
• Displacement.
• Displacement versus time graph and displacement versus position graph for a pulse.

Description of the Experiment

Two pulses move on the same slinky in the opposite directions.

Youtube movies can be stepped frame by frame using the , and . keys on your keyboard. If you want to download the movie to your computer, right-click or control-click HERE.

Youtube movies can be stepped frame by frame using the , and . keys on your keyboard. If you want to download the movie to your computer, right-click or control-click HERE.

Questions

• Describe what you observed in two videos.
• Compare and contrast your observations.
• Explain the observations. Use graphical representations such as displacement versus position and displacement versus time.
• Does the same explanation work for both experiments? If yes, then what is a more general principle that governs both phenomena?