Radar and How it Works

Paper Summary:

The paper begins by explaining basically what radar is and for what it's used. Then the paper recounts the history of radar's development, both theoretically and practically. From the history of radar the paper returns to the question of how it works, but analyzes the physics in depth, and breaks down the operation of each of a radar system's components. The paper finishes with a review of modern applications of different types of radar systems.

Table of Contents:
The History of Radar
Robert H. Rines - American Father of Radar
How Radar Works
The Radar Transmitter System
The Oscillator
The Modulator
The Transmitter
The Antenna
Types of Radar
Simple Pulse Radar
Continuous Wave Radar
Phased-Array Radar
Secondary Radar
Modern Radar
References

From the Paper:

"Parallel developments occurred in a number of countries. The highest frequency at which then-current technology allowed substantial power to be generated was about 30MHz, the top end of the HF band. UK radar development proceeded rapidly from 1935 so that by 1937 the first operational (HF) radars of the Chain Home series were demonstrated. These frequencies were in place at the outbreak of World War II and played a decisive role in the air defence of Britain during the War. Wartime radar development quickly moved on to shorter wavelengths as devices were developed to allow generation and control of the power, but the Chain Home radars remained in service, as originally installed. The Chain Home radars, operating between 25 to 30MHz, on occasions indicated returns from extreme ranges, due to ionospheric reflection beyond the horizon. But they were intended as line-of-sight radars and long-range returns from the distant ground via an ionospheric reflection were generally only a source of confusion. During the War some attempts were made to use the ionospherically propagated signal for long range detections of convoys but no success was achieved (or could be expected) and tests were dropped."

More papers on Radar and How it Works:

• Essay # 752 : "Traffic Radar"
• Essay # 49952 : "The Life and Works of Michael Jackson"
• Research Paper # 64613 : "Terrorism and How it has Changed our World"

APA Citation:

MLA Citation: