A laboratory manual lists the following accepted values of the fundamental constants:…

PHYSICS · Multi-part · CBSE · Physics · Electromagnetic Waves · Electromagnetic Waves

Problem

A laboratory manual lists the following accepted values of the fundamental constants:

\mu_0 = 4\pi \times 10^{-7}\,\text{N\,A}^{-2}

and

\varepsilon_0 = 8.854 \times 10^{-12}\,\text{C}^2\,\text{N}^{-1}\,\text{m}^{-2}

. (i) Calculate the speed of an electromagnetic wave in free space using these values, expressing your answer in

\text{m\,s}^{-1}

correct to three significant figures. (ii) Suppose the measured value of

\varepsilon_0

were over-estimated by

1.5\%

while

\mu_0

were exact. Determine the percentage error that this would introduce into the computed value of the speed. Show all working.