A travelling wave moves from one place to another, whereas a standing wave appears to stand still, vibrating in place. Two waves (with the same amplitude, frequency, and wavelength) are travelling in opposite directions (one of them is generated for total reflection effect of a vertical wall).
The wave due to their superpositon is no longer a travelling wave because the position and time dependence have been separated. The wave amplitude (which is double of the single wave components) does not trave, but stands still and oscillates up and down according to a cos function. Characteristic of standing waves are locations with maximum displacement (antinodes) and locations with zero displacement (nodes).
Animation courtesy of Dr. Dan Russell, Kettering University.
LIC - Coastal Engineering Laboratory
1460
