I understand that it’s basically opposite waves cancelling each other out. But I want to know why it works. Sorry in advance, if I’m not clear.
In: Mathematics
The question of *why* waves cancel each other out comes down to something called the superposition principle. This says that the combined action of two processes is the sum of the two individual processes. For example, if I am in a boat, sailing East, but the current flows North, my boat will move Northeast. This direction is a sum of the two forces pushing the boat. The same thing happens with waves. The way waves combine is to simply add the amplitude of the wave at every point. [The Wikipedia article for the superposition principle has more info, including a section on wave interference. ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superposition_principle)
This is beyond ELI5, but there is no fundamental reason why the superposition principle should hold for all systems. It is only a linear response. In practice, it is an extremely good approximation for most systems, but it does not always hold.
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