Question

You make a telephone call from New York to a friend in London. Estimate how long it will take the electrical signal generated by your voice to reach London, assuming the signal is (a) carried on a telephone cable under the Atlantic Ocean, and (b) sent via satellite 36,000 km above the ocean. Would this cause a noticeable delay in either case

Answer 1

a) t = 2 10⁻² s , t = 2.4 10-1 s

Step-by-step explanation:

In this exercise they indicate the delay in two signals

a) A signal travels on an electrical cable, between New York and London.

The wave formed in this wire for the signal. This wave travels at the speed of light, c = 3 108 m / s, so the delay is very small

t = d / c

t = 6000 10³/3 10⁸

t = 2 10⁻² s

b) The signal points to a satellite in geostationary orbit

distance traveled = √ (2 36000 10³)² + 6000²

distance = 72 10⁶ m

the waiting time is

t = d / c

t = 72 10⁶/3 10⁸

t = 2.4 10-1 s

we can see that the signal sent by the satellites has more delay because its distance is much greater