Engineers designing an interplanetary probe must choose appropriate methods for transmitting energy and information between separate modules that will later detach from one another.
Respond to the following tasks about wave phenomena the engineers must consider.
(a) Describe two fundamental physical differences between mechanical waves and electromagnetic waves that the engineers should keep in mind when selecting a communication system for modules that will be separated by vast regions of interplanetary space.
(b) Give one specific example of a mechanical wave and one specific example of an electromagnetic wave. For each example, identify the medium (if any) required for its propagation.
(c) Explain why increasing the amplitude of an electromagnetic signal in vacuum has a different set of practical limitations than increasing the amplitude of a mechanical wave in a solid structure.