Phase Cancellation

Phase cancellation occurs when two sound waves are played together, and their peaks and troughs align in opposite ways. When this happens, the waves can cancel each other out, reducing or eliminating certain sounds. Imagine two people pushing a swing: if they push in sync, the swing goes higher; if they push opposite and at the right moments, they can stop the swing altogether. Similarly, sound waves cancel each other when out of sync, causing some sounds or frequencies to diminish or disappear. This effect is important in audio engineering, noise cancellation, and acoustics.