How radar works: The weapon that made it famous during the Second World War.

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Even when our eyes can't see, we can see what's around us thanks to radar.

The development of radar during World War II was a game-changer. Battle of Britain, the 1940 air war over British skies, was won by Britain and its allies because of technology, according to the Imperial War Museums (IWM).

Radio waves are used in radar, which stands for Radio Detection and Ranging, to locate targets. According to the Earth Observing Laboratory, it is still frequently utilized today; however with the advancement of technology, they now commonly harness microwaves. More accurate readings can be obtained using radios that operate at a higher frequency.

Radar was invented in the 1920s

Even though this physical test by fire made radar a household name, the science that underlies it dates back much more and is based on the study of electromagnetic (EM) waves.

Energy in the form of electromagnetic radiation (EM radiation) can be found in many forms, including radio waves, microwaves, X-rays, and ultraviolet radiation (sunlight). Mobile phones and wireless computer networks both operate on electromagnetic waves.

In 1885, Scottish physicist James Clerk Maxwell hypothesized that radio waves, like light waves, might be reflected off metal surfaces.

The German physicist Heinrich Hertz confirmed it a short time later... Experiments conducted in 1888 showed that they were reflected back to him. Live Science earlier reported that the unit of frequency for an EM wave was called after Maxwell because he was the first to apply his theories. An 'obstacle detector and ship navigation device' patent was granted to German engineer Christian Hülsmeyer in 1904. An early radar system was born despite the lack of a memorable name.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, long-range military bombers were not invented until the 1930s, which encouraged countries to invest in a system that could detect their approach and provide an early warning.

The United States and the United Kingdom could perfect the technology because of their extensive study. Royal Society researchers said Sir Robert Watson-Watt, a Scottish physicist recognized as the "father of radar," took the science that had come before and constructed the workable system that formed the backbone of modern radar.

What's the deal with radar?

The following are the four most common parts of a typical system:

* Transmitter: The radio pulse's source. 

*It is essential to have an antenna to transmit the pulse and receive its reverberation as an electrical signal.

*Switch: The antenna uses this switch to determine whether or not it should be transmitting or receiving signals.

*To interpret the pulses, an operator needs a receiver to detect and transform the signals.

As the name suggests, illumination is the technique of directing artificial radio waves toward specific things. On the other hand, radio waves are not visible to the naked eye or even to optical cameras. According to NASA, they travel at the speed of light - around 300,000,000 meters per second.

According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, radio waves (echoes) are sent back to the radar, where they are amplified and processed by expert operators and computers. Data such as range and bearing are provided once returned to the sender.

Unlike gamma and X rays, radio waves are inexpensive to produce, can penetrate through snow, mist, and fog, and are safe.

The police can use a radar speed gun to determine how fast oncoming automobiles are traveling, and those who are speeding will be issued a speeding ticket, as stated by Encyclopaedia Britannica. Radar can detect ships, planes, satellites, or even closer to home. Meteorologists also use radar to map and track global weather systems.

The Battle of the Somme

See the RAF Museum's website to learn more about radar's role in the Battle of Britain.

It would send out waves from a network of radar towers located in the South and East of the country, which would travel until they hit something (like an incoming jet) and be rebounded back to the receiver. According to the RAF, expert operators could determine the approaching enemy planes' height, range, and bearing by estimating how long it took the waves to return.

By doing so, the RAF could scramble its planes in time to face a threat. When it came to winning the fight and defeating Third Reich invasion plans, an operator of a British radar system gave an account of what he saw and heard, which was reported by BBC News.

Radar that uses Doppler shifts

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, Doppler radar was one of the most significant advancements in post-war radar technology. Only after the threat of bombers had been eliminated was the technology repurposed for weather forecasting.

Doppler can give us more than just the object's range and location; it can also tell us the object's speed. An object's waves will be closer together if it is traveling toward you, and further apart if they are going away from you, according to the Doppler Effect concept.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) uses this to track weather systems that are continually moving.

There is a lot of data that has to be processed. Hence contemporary Doppler radars rely on more computing power.

In a police speed gun, doppler radar is also used.

Reference : https://www.livescience.com/how-radar-works

Image source : https://pixabay.com/id/illustrations/f-16-militer-pesawat-terbang-1816071/

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