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One type of antenna for a radio reciever consists of a shortpiece of straight wi

ID: 1756176 • Letter: O

Question

One type of antenna for a radio reciever consists of a shortpiece of straight wire; when the electric field of a radio wavestrikes this wire it makes currents flow along it, which aredetected and amplified by te reciever. Suppose that the electricfield of a radio wave is vertical. What must be the orientation ofthe wire for maximum sensitivity? One type of antenna for a radio reciever consists of a shortpiece of straight wire; when the electric field of a radio wavestrikes this wire it makes currents flow along it, which aredetected and amplified by te reciever. Suppose that the electricfield of a radio wave is vertical. What must be the orientation ofthe wire for maximum sensitivity?

Explanation / Answer

The electric field of the radio wave will exert a force on theelectrons in the antenna. However, only the component of theelectric field along the direction of the antenna will contributeto the current induced in the antenna. The magnitude of the currentwill be proportional to the magnitude of this component of theelectric field. Consider the orientation of the antenna . Thedirection of the electric field of the radio wave is the verticaldirection. If the antenna makes an angle with the verticalthen the component of the electric field along the antenna is givenby                                                     Eantena = Ecos Equation shows that the magnitude of the electric field alongthe antenna, and therefore the magnitude of the induced current,will be maximum when = 0o.