You are operating a new radio telescope that has been installed on a tall cliff facing the ocean. You begin the testing of the telescope by facing the antenna toward the ocean, setting its receiving wavelength to 125 m, and sweeping its direction slowly from horizontal to straight up in the sky.Each sweep takes about an hour. When you review the data, you notice that the antenna received no signals when aimed at a certain angle above the horizontal. You continue to take data beginning at the same time each night and discover that the angle at which no signals are detected varies from night to night. Over a full month, the angle at which no signals are detected varies from 24.5° to 25.7°. You finally figure out that the loss of signal is due to destructive interference caused by the reflection of radio waves from the ocean surface, and the monthly variation is due to the changes caused by ocean tides. You inform the local oceanographic institute that you have a novel method of measuring tides. To verify your results, the institute asks for the variation in the heights of the tides during the previous month.

Principles of Physics: A Calculus-Based Text
5th Edition
ISBN:9781133104261
Author:Raymond A. Serway, John W. Jewett
Publisher:Raymond A. Serway, John W. Jewett
Chapter27: Wave Optics
Section: Chapter Questions
Problem 32P
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You are operating a new radio telescope that has been installed on a tall cliff facing the ocean. You begin the testing of the telescope by facing the antenna toward the ocean, setting its receiving wavelength to 125 m, and sweeping its direction slowly from horizontal to straight up in the sky.
Each sweep takes about an hour. When you review the data, you notice that the antenna received no signals when aimed at a certain angle above the horizontal. You continue to take data beginning at the same time each night and discover that the angle at which no signals are detected varies from night to night. Over a full month, the angle at which no signals are detected varies from 24.5° to 25.7°. You finally figure out that the loss of signal is due to destructive interference caused by the reflection of radio waves from the ocean surface, and the monthly variation is due to the changes caused by ocean tides. You inform the local oceanographic institute that you have a novel method of measuring tides. To verify your results, the institute asks for the variation in the heights of the tides during the previous month.

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