1) Energy cannot be created nor destroyed.
2) Electromagnetic waves carry energy.
3) Electromagnetic waves can destructively interfere with each other, and in some cases, completely annihilate each other.
In the case of complete annihilation, where does the energy go, since it cannot be destroyed?
In: Physics
“Complete destructive interference” can only happen where there is an object that can interact with EM waves, and this object carries the energy away. There’s what happens when light is absorbed.
In any other context, there is no “complete destructive interference”. Destructive interference in one place corresponds to constructive interference elsewhere – the light energy is just moved.
They don’t annihilate each other. They sync in such a way that their effects are opposite at specific points in time and space.
Think of it in terms of force. You try to push a car, at the exact moment your friend tries to pull the car with exactly the same force. Your forces cancel each other out, but the forces still exist.
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