Question:
A LASER is a source of very intense, monochromatic, and unidirectional beam of light. These properties of a laser light can be exploited to measure long distances. The distance of the Moon from the Earth has been already determined very precisely using a laser as a source of light. A laser light beamed at the Moon takes 2.56 s toreturn after reflection at the Moon surface. How much is the radius of the lunar orbit around the Earth ?
Answer:
Time taken by the laser beam to return to Earth after reflection from the Moon = 2.56 s
Speed of light = 3 × 108 m/s
Time taken by the laser beam to reach Moon = 1 / 2 × 2.56 = 1.28 s
Radius of the lunar orbit = Distance between the Earth and the Moon = 1.28 × 3 × 108 = 3.84 × 108 m = 3.84 × 105 km
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