Through electromagnetic radiation, a radar is used to detect the location or speed of an object.
Radar is a term that comes from an English acronym: Radio detecting and ranging . It is a system that, through electromagnetic radiation, allows the location or speed of an object to be detected. The notion of radar is also used to name the device that applies this system.
For example: "The army radar detected a suspicious plane flying without authorization over the Bautista River" , "According to the police radar, the car was traveling at 180 kilometers per hour" , "The airport has eight radars to control air traffic « .
What radar does is emit electromagnetic waves that are reflected by the target and received at the same position of the emitter. This type of echo allows various information to be processed, such as distances, speeds, altitudes and directions of moving or static objects.
Types of radars
Radars can be classified using a wide variety of criteria. Thus, for example, among the most significant proposals are the following:
- If you take into account what the wave shape is, they can be divided into three groups: continuous wave with modulation , continuous wave and pulsed wave .
- If the number of antennas is taken into consideration, they can be classified into three types: multistatic , monostatic and bistatic .
- It is possible to classify radar in many other ways according to other variables. In this way we can talk about secondary, tracking or search radars , among others.
There are different types of radars.
Its uses
Radars have multiple uses. They can be used by the armed forces to know the position and movements of various targets; by the police to measure the speed at which cars travel on a road ; for airport security to give instructions to planes and avoid collisions; by the captain of a ship to guide him on the high seas; or by the meteorological service to detect precipitation, among other uses.
Currently, the type of radar that is most commonly used and that affects the common population is the radar that is used to carry out speed controls . In Spain , the DGT ( General Directorate of Traffic ) is the one in charge of proceeding to establish these aforementioned radars in the different provinces.
However, it must be said that these radars have "enemies" . And in order to prevent drivers from being fined, apps have even emerged that warn where the corresponding speed cameras are located.
social radar
We cannot ignore either that, as a result of the advance of social networks, the so-called social radars have been shaped. Basically these are the mechanisms that can be used to know the follow-up that an event, character or element is having.
Thus, for example, we could highlight that what are known as Twitter hashtags are used to know when a television program is having an impact and following.