When two or more waves passes through a medium; its particles are affected by each wave independently. At an instant, the resultant displacement of a particle is the algebraic sum of the displacements due to each wave and depends upon the phase difference. This is known as the principle of superposition and is the foundation of the theory of interference developed by young in 1801. If a single source of light is present in the medium, then the energy distribution is uniform. However, if there are two adjacent exactly similar sources, then the distribution no longer remains uniform. At some places the energy is maximum while at other places the energy is minimum. Of course the total energy of the system remains the same. This modification in energy distribution due to presence of two or more exactly similar sources is a specific case of superposition of waves and is known as "INTERFERENCE" .
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