When two or more waves are passing through a medium at the same time, the resultant displacement at any point is equal to the vector sum of their individual displacement at that point.
Two or more Progressive waves can travels simultaneously in a medium with independent of one another. When they reach at a point, the resultant displacement of the particle at that point is equal to the vector sum of the displacement produced by each wave separately. [Ref. Principle of PHYSICS - XII]
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| Source: Principle of Superposition |
[Here, two progressive wave Green wave traverse to the right and Blue wave transverse left. The net Red wave amplitude at each point is the sum of the amplitudes of the individual waves.]
If two waves each of same amplitude a superpose, the resultant displacement is:
$y = a + a = 2a$ (Constructive interference) - Figure (i)
$y = a - a = 0$ (Destructive interference) - Figure (ii)
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