Summary
Highlights
The video explains what a transverse pulse is. In a transverse pulse, the particles of the medium move perpendicularly (at 90 degrees) to the direction of the pulse's movement. This is illustrated with an analogy of a 'Mexican wave' in a stadium, where people stand up and down (perpendicular movement) while the wave appears to travel horizontally.
The superposition principle states that when two pulses meet, their amplitudes add together. Constructive interference occurs when two pulses on the same side of the equilibrium line (both above or both below) meet. Their amplitudes combine, resulting in a larger temporary pulse, before they continue as if they never interacted.
Destructive interference takes place when two pulses on opposite sides of the equilibrium line meet. If they have equal amplitudes, they will temporarily cancel each other out, appearing as a flat line, before continuing on their original paths.
The video begins by showing an animation of a wave. A wave is composed of many individual disturbances called pulses. A pulse is defined as a single disturbance in a medium (material). Many pulses put together create a wave.
A pulse has two main properties: pulse length, which is the horizontal distance of the pulse, and amplitude, which is the vertical distance from the equilibrium (bottom of the medium) to the peak of the pulse.