Interfering sound waves pass through each other because their energy flow is preserved

Evidence

When sounds destructively interfere with each other, they do not disappear. Instead, they travel through each other. Similarly, when they constructively interfere, they do not grow but simply pass through each other. This is because although the total pressure, or velocity component, may lie anywhere between zero and the sum of the individual pressures or velocities, the energy flow of the sound waves is still preserved, and so the waves continue to propagate. — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 327

Categorization

• DEFINE: Lays the physical basis for superposition and interference — the energy-preservation insight is often glossed over.
• corroborated: 3 independent passages support this claim — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 327
• XREF: connects to: Impulse energy is fixed at impact regardless of later echoes; Opposing waves cancel only momentarily because energy persists in kinetic form; Spreading sound weakens because energy thins over area, not through absorption. (+4 more)

Broader Connections

• Uncorrelated sound waves sum by power, not by amplitude. #expands (0.85) — David M. Howard, Jamie Angus, Acoustics and Psychoacoustics, 244
• Sound diffraction arises from gradual pressure decay, not abrupt wave cutoff #qualifies (0.75)
• Molecular interaction prevents sound pressure from cutting off sharply at edges #qualifies (0.72)