Rumor has it that the U.S. Military has spy satellites in orbit around the earth
ID: 1307310 • Letter: R
Question
Rumor has it that the U.S. Military has spy satellites in orbit around the earth carrying telescopes that can resolve objets on the ground as small as the width of a car's license plate (30.0 cm). Assume one of these satellites is in a typical orbig of 400 km above the surface of teh earth and they focus light with a wavelength of 500nm. What would have to be the minimum diameter of the lens in one of these telescopes on the satellite in order to resolve such a small object?
a.81.3 cm
b.6.67 cm
c.61.0 cm
d.6,667 cm
e.48.6 cm
Explanation / Answer
The basic limit is single slit interference for which
x/L = 1.33 lambda / d
where x is the with of the object ( 0.3 m)
L is the distance from the "slit" ( 400,000 m)
lambda = 500 * 10 ^ -9 m
d=81.3 cm
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