Why can two mechanical waves occupy the same space at the same time?
1 Answer
A wave isn't an object, it's a displacement of some property of the object, and so there's no physical conflict
Explanation:
A wave isn't an object, it's a displacement of an object or some property of the object - e.g. air pressure in the case of a sound wave. So two waves can pass through one another, either in opposite directions or with one overtaking the other - all that happens is that the displacements sum when they're in the same place.
It is possible that the particular physical phenomenon that the wave is in may cause the waves to interact as they pass close to each other, resulting in some change in the behaviour of the waves - perhaps a transfer of energy from one to the other, perhaps the two waves combining, perhaps the generation of multiple waves in various directions. However, it is most common that we can simply treat the two waves as wholly disconnected.
