Destructive Interference when walking toward an antenna

AI Thread Summary
The discussion focuses on calculating the points of destructive interference experienced by an observer walking toward two antennas broadcasting at 96.0 MHz, separated by 12.40m. The observer initially miscalculates the number of minima by only considering the distance to one antenna instead of the difference in distances from both antennas. Correctly, destructive interference occurs when the path difference equals odd multiples of half the wavelength (0.5λ, 1.5λ, etc.). The wavelength is determined to be 3.125m, leading to a need for a revised approach to find the correct number of interference points. The key takeaway is that both antennas must be considered to accurately determine the locations of destructive interference.
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Homework Statement


Two antennas located at points A and B are broadcasting radio waves of frequency 96.0 MHz, perfectly in phase with each other. The two antennas are separated by a distance d=12.40m. An observer, P, is located on the x axis, a distance x=55.0m from antenna A, so that APB forms a right triangle with PB as hypotenuse.

If observer P starts walking until he reaches antenna A, at how many places along the x-axis will he detect minima in the radio signal, due to destructive interference?


Homework Equations


Destructive interference = lambda / 2
lambda = c/f



The Attempt at a Solution


Since lambda is 3.125 m (3E8 / 96MHz), I thought the total number of times the observer would experience destructive interference would be once every wavelength (where it's lambda / 2) so I took 55 / 3.125 and got 17.6, which would produce 18 destructive interferences. This is incorrect, not sure what I'm doing wrong. Picture is attached. Thanks!
 
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The picture is not attached, but the description is pretty clear so we can get the idea.

Your idea of when destructive interference happens is a little mixed up. The difference in the distances to each speaker must equal 0.5λ, 1.5λ, 2.5λ, etc. (It's not just the distance to antenna A, and ignoring antenna B, as you are saying.)
 
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