A Breakdown and Explanation of RADAR

Radar is all around us every day. However, what do we really know about radar? In the graphic “I Can See You: Radar Explained,” we learn the basics of Radar.

What is RADAR?

• Radar is short for ra(dio) d(etecting) a(nd) r(anging).
• Radar is in use all around us, although it is normally invisible.

What are the uses of RADAR?

There are three predominant uses for radar:

1. Detect the presence of an object at a distance
2. Determine the speed of an object
3. Map something

How does RADAR work?

Radar makes use of two techniques using radio waves:

1. Echo location
2. Doppler Shift

Our ears hear echo and Doppler shift every day; that’s the reason we can move toward sound and judge by sound if an object is moving or sitting still.

5 Ways RADAR is Used Today

#1 Air Traffic -

Airport radar shows traffic controllers information on aircraft in controlled air space, and possibly surrounding uncontrolled airspace.

Air traffic control (ATC) systems include:

• Primary radar – uses signals scattered off the bodies of aircraft to determine location and altitude. Normally available only close to major airports
• Secondary radar - interacts with signals carried by aircraft. It provides most of the radar coverage available to an air traffic controller. Has a much longer range than primary radar.

#2 Marine Radar -

Marine radars are used by ships for collision avoidance and navigation purposes. Vessel traffic services use marine radar to provide collision avoidance or traffic regulation of ships in the surveillance area.

#3 Weather Radar –

Weather radar, or weather surveillance radar (WSR) is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type (rain, snow, hail, etc.), and forecast its future position and intensity. Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to intensity of precipitation. Both types of data can be analyzed to determine the structure of storms and their potential to cause severe weather.

#4 Radar Gun -

A radar gun or speed gun is a small Doppler radar unit (hand-held or vehicle-mounted) used to detect the speed of objects:

• Vehicles for the purpose regulating traffic;
• Pitched baseballs, runners or moving objects in sports.

It relies on the Doppler effect applied to a radar beam to measure the speed of objects at which it is pointed.

#5 Space Radar

Space-based radar refers to space-borne radar systems that have a variety of purposes.

• A number of earth-observing radar satellites, such as RadarSat, have employed synthetic aperture radar (SAR) to obtain terrain and land-cover information about the earth.
• Space-Based Radar (SBR) is a proposed constellation of satellites for the US Defense Department. It would allow detection and tracing of aircraft and other vehicles from space. This information is then relayed to regional and national command centers.