Question

You are out for a drive on a long straight road, happily listening to the Raptors game on the radio. You notice that as you drive at a constant velocity, the broadcast cuts out from time to time. You happen to know that your car radio is simultaneously picking up a signal from two broadcast antennae, which are separated by some distance and are currently at some known position relative to you. As both a dedicated student of physics and basketball fan, you are determined to hear the rest of the game without any interruptions. Assuming the game will end at a precise time, how fast can you drive (without speeding)? (It’s unsafe to either stop or drive too slowly on this particular road.)

Answer 1

Answer:

The interruptions are due to the car moving in a region of destructive interference between the waves of the towers.

As it moves into the constructive interference region the signal gets back, and the broadcast is normal.

At the same speed the amount of interruptions will be longer, so to reduce the amount of interruptions, it is better for the driver to speed up, as it will make moving out of destructive interference region faster.

It will also make moving out of the proper broadcast region faster, but since the speed is high, it will not seem that much interruptions are occurring as we move faster.

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