Constructive Sound Interference?

Most recent answer: 03/31/2015

Q:
sir, i was just wondering "why sound always interfares constructivly". i mean whenever a group of peoples clap in any seminar then the resultant intensity is always higher then individual one. why so ???
- himanshu (age 21)
new delhi, india
A:

Actually that interference is a random mix of constructive and destructive. The total sound volume is about the sum of the volumes from each clapper, which means that on the average there's little net interference. Purely constructive interference would mean that the sound of say 10 people clapping would be 100 times as intense as that of one person clapping.

Mike W.


(published on 03/31/2015)