Foundation · Module 2.5 · How You Hear

Phase & Polarity

Why two identical signals can become silence — or hollow comb filtering — depending on how they meet.

Combined waveform (time domain)
Frequency spectrum (comb visible on noise)
B Path B

Two identical signals, perfectly aligned

Press Play. Both paths are identical 1 kHz sine waves with no delay, no polarity flip — they reinforce each other. The combined output is exactly twice as loud as one path alone (+6 dB). Now click Flip Path B polarity — the two waves cancel completely. Silence. That's the polarity flip in its purest form. The two waves are physically opposite, and they sum to zero everywhere.

Master