AVAITION TECHNOLOGY --- HISTROY AND TECHNOLOGY BEHIND AVIATION RADAR
The born of radar was
conceived with the radio. The technology of radio made the invention of radar
possible. Radar is an electronic device or system designed to detect direction,
distance and speed of aircraft etc. through sending out pulses. Today, radar is
a standard piece of equipment used in many forms and ways and something most
people have heard of. Before the Second World War though, radar technology was
regarded as a top secret project by the nations that were rapidly discovering
it.
The Second World War led to
most countries finding the need to o track and measure aviation movement for
defence reasons. This started off with
experiments using “sound mirrors” which used a radar dish with a microphone to
detect the sound of engines at longer distances. Robert Watson-Watt invited Air
Chief Marshal Hugh Dowding for a demonstration. Unfortunately it didn’t go well
as a passing milk float completely disrupted the demo. Watson-Watt quickly
decided that using sound to detect aircraft wasn’t the most reliable way of doing
things! Following investment from the British Government to, rather bizarrely,
research radio “death rays”, radar was soon chosen as the way forward.
The very first technology
allowed for the radar to provide feedback which enables the radar controller to
see pulses rise on a Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) scope whenever an echo or
reflection was seen indicating an object. The transmission pulse would start at
“0” on the scale and the return pulses would be seen along a ruler indicating
distance. For example, if a return pulse was seen at ‘50’ that meant the target
or object was 50 miles away.
Abdullah Alhumaidi
Post No. 1
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