Add the Signs, Then Let Them Go

You'll learnwhat a string does while two pulses cross, why a standing wave travels nowhere, how a pipe's ends pick its notes, and what the throb of two close notes counts.

Two pulses meet on a string, add for a moment, and carry on unchanged. That one rule builds standing waves, pipe notes and beats. Twelve short steps; press Next for each one.

12 STEPS · 6 QUICK CHECKS · ADD WITH SIGNS · THE ENDS CHOOSE · BEATS COUNT A DIFFERENCE · v2

add with signs, then let each pulse go · the ends choose the notes

Before you start

What you're looking at

Two pulses approaching on one string. The solid curve is the string itself; the faint curves show what each pulse alone would do.

The question

What does the string do where they meet, and what happens to them afterwards?

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