A celebrity holds a press conference , which is televised live. A television vie

Question

A celebrity holds a press conference , which is televised live. A television viewer hears the sound picked up by the microphone directly in front of the celebrity. The viewer is steated 2.3m from the television set. A reporter at the press conference is located 4.1m from the microphone and hears the words directly at the very same instant that the television viewer hears them. Using a value of 343m/s for the speed of sound, determine the maximum distance between the television viewer and the celebrity.

Explanation / Answer

The idea is that the sound travels 4.1 m to the reporter inthe same time that the electrical signal travels to the televisionand the sound travels 2.3 m to the viewer at the tv. This means thesound travels the additional 1.8 m to the reporter in the time theelectrical signal travels to the tv.

How long does the sound take to travel the 1.8 m?

   time = dist / speed = 1.8 m / 343m/s = 0.005248 sec

Electrical signals travel at approx the speed of light; we'lluse this as the max possible speed. What is the max possible distthe electrical signal can travel then?

   dist = speed * time = 3 x108 m/s * 0.005248 sec = 1574400 metersor

              1574.4 km    which is about 1000 miles

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