The reflection of mechanical wavesClick here for student and other user informationClick here for teacher information

Start a wave on the upper elastic rope having an open end.

Observe the phase of the reflected wave at the right end compared to the phase of the incoming wave.

Repeat he experiment with the rope below which has a fixed end.

It can be clearly seen that the reflected waves have the same phase as the incoming waves when they are reflected on an open end, and they have opposite phases if they are reflected on fixed ends.

Click to return to the first page of this sessionClick to go to the menuClick for the keywords related to this materialClick for more informationClick to go back to the previous screenClick to go on to the next screen