Practical Applications of Mechanical Waves and Interference

For my Imagine RIT project, I will make diagrams to show how mechanical waves work, how interference works, and some practical applications of waves and interference. Some examples would be noise cancelling (or amplifying) speakers or headphones or a possible way to mitigate earthquake damage by using destructive interference to decrease the strength of earthquakes headed for cities. I will set up a computer simulation showing how the waves would interfere, showing how you can manipulate waves from predetermined origin points to either minimize or maximize other waves (depending on the application, since you would want to minimize waves if an earthquake is coming or maximize them if you want to make a louder sound with smaller speakers) when they reach a specific point or area (for example, reducing the effect of an earthquake on a city or increasing the volume in a music concert). I also will make a physical demonstration of mechanical waves, possibly using a fish tank full of water or a tray of Jello as a medium for the waves. The goal of this project is to show people how cool mechanical waves are and what their uses are.