In: Physics
The beat wavelength lbeat is much longer than that of either superposed wave , l1 and l2. Demonstrate this. They relate as lbeat-1 = (1/2)( l1-1 - l2-1) (hint: remember the condition for the formation of beats, and state it mathematically. If it takes more than a couple of lines, you are on the wrong track)
Given the relation 
, we get 
Now one of the fundamental requirement for the formation of
beats is that the 2 waves must have nearly equal frequencies, this
means that their wavelengths must also be nearly equal, since
 where 
 is the frequency and 
 is the wavelength and 
 is the speed of propogation of the wave in that medium. Since both
the waves are assumed to be travelling in the same medium, their
 are same. Hence, if their 
 are nearly equal, their 
 would also be nearly equal. Coming back to the relation, this
would mean that the denominator
  
Becomes very large. Hence, 
 becomes very large compared to either superposed wave.