Propagation of Reflected and Refracted Waves at an Interface
Propagation of Reflected and Refracted Waves at an Interface
A propagating wave of given frequency (in Hz) is incident on an interface between two acoustic media, with varying propagation velocities. The incident angle is measured from the vertical, running from 0 to 90 degrees. The amplitudes of the reflected and refracted waves are computed for the specified incident angle. The reflected wave is added to the incident wave in the upper medium and the refracted wave is shown in the lower medium. At a certain incident angle that depends on the relative velocities, the incident wave will be totally reflected and the bottom half of the plot will become solid gray, indicating zero amplitude.