A self-improving physical experimental teaching device for water wave interference and diffraction was introduced, featuring a more user-friendly operation and clearer experimental phenomena. The improved apparatus allows for the measurement of water wave wavelengths, providing a more straightforward and intuitive instrument for university-level physics research, teaching, and various science outreach activities. Through this experiment, the phenomenon of single vibration source fluctuation was observed, and the relationships between water depth, water wavelength, and signal generator frequency were studied, completing the measurement of the water wave wavelength. Further analysis of interference and diffraction phenomena for double-source vibrations and beyond was conducted, along with a study of the evolution patterns. Additionally, Matlab is employed to perform a simulation study on interference and diffraction, reproducing the evolution of interference and diffraction fringes and confirming the experimental validity of the improved device.
Xu et al. (Wed,) studied this question.