Section 6
Wave Behavior and Interaction
By Boundless
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17160/square/partial-transmittance.gif)
When the medium changes, a wave often experiences partial transmission and partial refection at the interface.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17170/square/figure-17-10-04a.jpeg)
A wave may have a complicated shape that can result from superposition and interference of several waves.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17171/square/standing-wave-2.gif)
A standing wave is one in which two waves superimpose to produce a wave that varies in amplitude but does not propagate.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17172/square/th2.gif)
When vibrations in the string are simple harmonic motion, waves are described by harmonic wave functions.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17158/raw/pencil-in-a-bowl-of-water.jpg)
Refraction is a surface phenomenon that occurs as the change in direction of a wave due to a change in its medium.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17159/square/square-diffraction.jpeg)
Diffraction refers to various phenomena such as the bending of waves around obstacles and the spreading out of waves past small openings.
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17175/square/drum-vibration-mode12.gif)
The most general solution of the wave equation
![Thumbnail](../../../../../../figures.boundless-cdn.com/17176/square/figure-17-11-01a.jpeg)
The energy in a wave is proportional to its amplitude squared and the intensity of a wave is defined as power per unit area.