Demos: 4C-04 Ripple Tank



The Ripple Tank is a device which can demonstrate many different types of wave behavior. It is a shallow container mounted on legs which holds a small amount of water. It works by shining light on the water surface. Water waves are generated and the light is refracted by the waves, transmitted through the glass bottom and projected on a screen as a series of light and dark regions. These light and dark regions represent the wave. Examples of wave phenomena that you can demonstrate are: wave propagation; reflection from straight and curved barriers; standing waves; refraction; single slit and double slit diffraction; interference from two wave sources.