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2
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3answers
80 views

Radio antennas that are much shorter than the wavelength

From my limited experience with ham radio when I was a kid, I expect transmitting and receiving antennas to have lengths that are on the same order of magnitude as the wavelength, and in fact I recall ...
1
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1answer
86 views

The length of an antenna is twice the amplitude of the wave

I have seen it remarked in some problem sets that if you have an electromagnetic wave traveling in the $x$-direction with it's $y$-coordinate given as $y(x,t)=y_0\sin (\omega t +kx)$ and you want a ...
1
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0answers
24 views

Does shadow fading change if obstacles are fixed?

Given a RF sender and a receiver, suppose the obstacles between them are fixed, both their material and dielectric properties, does the path loss caused by their shadowing vary? If yes, what causes ...
3
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0answers
44 views

Effective aperture of isotropic antenna

I have always taken for granted that 'the aperture of a loss-less isotropic antenna is $\dfrac {\lambda^2} {4\pi}$'. On a whim, I tried to look up how this expression was derived, but so far I have ...
0
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0answers
87 views

Can a salt solution in water function just fine as a dipole antenna? [closed]

I found that it is known that ultrahigh frequencies of 900 and 1800 megahertz electromagnetic radiation can generate excellently the following phenomenon: electrostriction - the under the influence of ...
0
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0answers
59 views

I need to learn about Antenna physics (Books are preferred) [closed]

Soon I will be a graduate physics student at MIT... I need some references to study antenna physics, because it is one of the topics of my Doctoral General Exam... Until now every book I have ...
1
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0answers
20 views

Is the inducing signal weakened to the extent it induces a signal in the receiving antenna?

Silly question ... An antenna is necessary to receive a transmitted signal from atmosphere, or otherwise. The transmitted signal weakens as it travels through the atmosphere. When the signal ...
0
votes
1answer
55 views

Numb3rs TV series - Antenna

Most of you might have watched the TV series 'Numb3rs'. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Numb3rs In one of those episodes they were discussing about how to capture the contents on the screen of a ...
0
votes
1answer
328 views

How do EM waves get detached from an antenna?

How does an electro-magnetic waves get detached from an antenna and spread to the space? While an antenna receives an EM wave, which quantity of the EM wave (electric or magnetic) is used for ...
1
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1answer
64 views

Getting a given wavelength radio signal given an antenna with real-world constraints

Supposing you are given a transmitting antenna of whatever type of metal is most commonly used these days, and supposing that you are applying an AC current with the intent of transmitting a 1 m ...
6
votes
2answers
2k views

Why is Near Field Communication (NFC) range limited to about 20cm?

Near Field Communication (NFC) operates at 13.56 MHz. Near Field is the region situated at a distance r << λ λ = c/f ...
1
vote
0answers
65 views

Can mu-metal reduce the negative effect of metal close to low frequency RFID antennas?

I have an 134.2 khz RFID antenna for sport events which is basically a 1x1 meter square sheet of rubber with 3 loops of antenna cable embedded. The problem is that the transponder recognition range is ...
3
votes
2answers
193 views

Radio communication and antennas

I'm trying to understand how an antenna is able to understand, but have a few quesions: I understand that for an antenna to distinguish between 2 (or more) signals, they have to be in different ...
0
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0answers
85 views

Wireless signal strength

My question is possibly somewhat misplaced, but I'll try to explain as best as I can. Suppose I have a transmitter with a frequency of 2500MHz and a power of 1W. It radiates uniformly in all ...
0
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0answers
111 views

Antenna Power and gain calculation [closed]

I have a wireless security related question, the second part confused me: Your wireless network usually has a range of 100 feet. However you are having a (confidential) meeting in a 10’ x 10’ x ...
1
vote
2answers
204 views

Quantum Mechanics- Antenna emitting electromagnetic radiation

Radio signals are being transmitted in a frequency of $ 8.4 \times 10^9 s^{-1} $ and being received by an antenne that is capable of receiveing power of $ 4 \times 10^{-21} watt $ ($ 1 watt = 1 J ...
1
vote
2answers
74 views

What is difference between the miltary radar in 1940's from commercial antenna that is for the use of TV

What is difference between the miltary radar in 1940's from commercial antenna that is for the use of TV? I have read article from some of the WW2 history website that call the German radar the ...
0
votes
1answer
83 views

Is this claim from historician true for physicist point of view?

"The original Naxos I had a vertically polarized antenna, with poor results as the British radars initially used horizontal polarisation. (This seems to have been a case of the German designers being ...
1
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2answers
325 views

How to capture electomagnetic radiation/waves?

If I wanted to find out what kind of electomagnetic waves "travel" through my room at which frequency, what kind of equipment would I need? Suppose I want to view frequencies from 0 Hz to 6 GHz.
1
vote
1answer
174 views

What are the optimal shapes, if any, for fractal antennae?

A DIY fractal antenna project is described at http://www.htpc-diy.com/2012/04/diy-flexible-fractal-window-hdtv.html Mainly idle curiosity, but I was wondering what the principles behind these might ...
1
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2answers
327 views

How is antenna gain correlated to beam width?

Let's say you have two dipole type antennas. Antenna A has a gain of 2.15 dBi, a horizontal beam width of 360 deg and a vertical beam width of 45 deg. Antenna B is similar to antenna A, but has a ...
1
vote
3answers
666 views

Geometry of wireless signal strength

How does wireless signal strength correspond to distance? RSSI lies between -100 and 0 (at least, on my computer). Let's say I walk a distance x towards the router, and my RSSI goes from -60 to -50. ...
2
votes
3answers
946 views

Some questions about car radio and cellphone antennas

1-Why the antenna of the radio of cars is located outside the car and not inside? 2-If the answer to 1 is because that cars are like Faraday cages then how come my cell phone can receive signal ...
2
votes
1answer
317 views

How does holographic radar work?

I'm trying to figure out how the mechanics of holographic radar work. AFAIK there is a continuous 3d transmission signal (a dome-shaped antenna?) But because there isn't a direction or time-domain, ...
3
votes
2answers
315 views

Near-field around parabolic antenna?

Having a discussion at work about the $H$-field around a big parabolic antenna. All of the safety tests done around the antenna only mention $E$-Field. They state in the radiating near-field the $E$ ...
6
votes
1answer
278 views

Why are fractal geometries useful for compact antenna design?

While most of what I've read about fractals has been dubious in nature, over the years, I keep hearing that these sorts of self-similar (or approximately self-similar) geometries are useful in the ...
5
votes
1answer
1k views

Adverse Health Effects of Strong Radio Waves

A while ago, I was hiking near the Hollywood Sign in Los Angeles. When I got to the sign, I found out it was fenced off; with several signs and a security camera promising prompt enforcement. As I was ...
1
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3answers
634 views

Radio waves and frequency of photon

How radio waves create the current in antenna in terms of photons? If it is Compton scattering then why is not changed the freuency of photons?
5
votes
1answer
261 views

How is an inflatable parabolic antenna created?

I'm intrigued by this, and how it would work:- 3 sub-questions if I may: Construction: As I understand it's a flexible sphere constrained by a rigid edge. a. Do we simply glue 2 flat circular ...
7
votes
3answers
950 views

How do radio telescopes work?

If I search online for how radio telescopes work, the found articles talk about how RF is on the spectrum, etc, how the parabolic collector is the aperture which contributes to the sensitivity and ...
17
votes
3answers
2k views

Can I use an antenna as a light source?

Can I use a normal metal antenna to emit visible light?
2
votes
1answer
244 views

What is the effect of ice on an antenna?

A local FM radio station transmitting at 89.3 MHz recently announced that it would be running at 50% power due to freezing weather and a forecast of ice accumulation, as "when ice is forecast ... it ...