Chapter 32, Problem 32.50P

DATA As a physics lab instructor, you conduct an experiment on standing waves of microwaves, similar to the standing waves produced in a microwave oven. A transmitter emits microwaves of frequency f. The waves are reflected by a flat metal reflector, and a receiver measures the waves’ electric-field amplitude as a function of position in the standing-wave pattern that is produced between the transmitter and reflector (Fig. P32.50). You measure the distance d between points of maximum amplitude (antinodes) of the electric field as a function of the frequency of the waves emitted by the transmitter. You obtain the data given in the table.

Use the data to calculate c, the speed of the electromagnetic waves in air. Because each measured value has some experimental error, plot the data in such a way that the data points will lie close to a straight line, and use the slope of that straight line to calculate c.

Figure P32.50