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🌊 Waveform Interference Lab

A 3D water-surface mesh from two coherent point sources shows how swapping a pure sine wave for a square, triangle or sawtooth wave reshapes the interference pattern, because non-sinusoidal waves are sums of many harmonics that each interfere at their own wavelength.

Physics & Mechanics3DAdvanced60 FPS

🔬 What It Demonstrates

Two point sources radiate an identical periodic waveform outward as expanding circles. Superposition sums the two waves at every point on the surface; the mesh height and colour show the resulting constructive (crest) and destructive (trough) regions.

🎮 How to Use

Pick a waveform, then adjust frequency, source separation, phase difference and amplitude. Watch the fringe pattern change shape — sine gives smooth, evenly spaced fringes; square and sawtooth give sharper, less regular ones.

💡 Did You Know?

A square wave is mathematically a sine fundamental plus an infinite series of odd harmonics (3f, 5f, 7f...). Each harmonic interferes at its own wavelength, which is why non-sinusoidal interference patterns look noticeably different from the sine case even with identical sources.

⚙ Under the hood

wave interferencewater wavessound wavesharmonicsinterference patternsmathematical modelingfluid dynamicsThree.js

3D · Three.js / WebGL renderer · 60 FPS target · runs fully client-side, no install