What is produced when two opposing waves interact in such a way that they cancel each other out?

When two opposing waves interact in such a way that they cancel each other out, this phenomenon is known as destructive interference. In this scenario, the peaks of one wave align with the troughs of another wave, leading to a reduction in the overall amplitude of the resultant wave. When the waves are perfectly out of phase, they can completely cancel each other, resulting in no wave at all at certain points. This occurs in various contexts, such as sound waves and water waves.

On the other hand, resonance refers to the phenomenon where an object vibrates with increasing amplitude at its natural frequency due to external periodic forces. Constructive interference happens when waves are in phase, resulting in an increase in amplitude. A stationary wave is a pattern formed by the interference of two waves traveling in opposite directions, but it does not specifically imply cancellation. Destructive interference distinctly embodies the idea of cancellation between waves.