Jim Kelley wrote:
Two canceled waves cease to exist but the energy in the
two waves that canceled cannot cease to exist.

I'm sorry you're having so much trouble understanding such a simple
idea.

The idea that canceled reflections never existed in the
first place is not a simple one. If they never existed
in the first place, there is no reason to ever try to cancel
them because there was never anything to cancel. In effect,
you are saying the lack of reflections causes the reflections
never to have existed. Not only is that confusing cause and
effect but it also introduces time travel. "If you went back
in time and killed your grandfather before you were born,
you would cease to exist." But if you never existed, who
killed your grandfather? That's the exact logic that you
are using.

It really does turn you surly. The waves don't 'stop existing'.

Yes, they do. They stop existing in their original direction
of travel. A reflected power meter proves it. A forward power
meter proves that the energy that existed in the canceled
waves joined the forward wave. What is it about the Melles-
Groit and FSU redistribution of energy explainations that
you don't understand?

Given the conditions, they can never exist.

If reflections never exist, there is no need for a non-
reflective coating, is there? People who buy non-reflective
picture frames are wasting their money since the reflections
never exist. What is it about the Melles-Groit and FSU
explainations about redistribution of energy from the
canceled waves that you don't understand?

In the steady state, things
don't first do one thing, and then some time later do something else.

I've explained this before. Wave cancellation is a continuous
steady-state process. Ptot = P1 + P2 - 2*SQRT(P1*P2) = 0
is a continuous process. Every dt, waves P1 and P2 are
in the process of canceling each other during steady-state.
--
73, Cecil http://www.w5dxp.com