Question: An important application of waves involves using ultrasonic waves (i.e., high-frequency sound waves) to detect flaws in objects such as jet engine turbines and the

An important application of waves involves using ultrasonic waves (i.e., high-frequency sound waves) to detect flaws in objects such as jet engine turbines and the welds of bridges. Roughly speaking, ultrasonic waves are used to find and image defects inside such solid objects without having to take the object apart (hence the name “nondestructive testing”). Suppose ultrasonic waves with a frequency of 200 kHz are used to detect defects inside a piece of steel. If the speed of sound in steel is 5790 m/s (Chapter 13), what is the smallest distance between two defects that can be resolved by a microscope that uses sound waves (instead of light)?

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