Inchoate opined:
> If you're gonna swamp the gun you
> MUST swamp the RETURN beam, you can't
> do that with a reflected wave unless
> you're looking at a reflector area a
> substantial fraction of total frontal
> area of the vehicle.
The "total frontal area" is irrelevant if it bounces the radar signal
anywhere except more-or-less directly back at the radar gun, which is rare.
(Think F-117A.)
Corner cut reflectors, on the other hand, reflect almost all of the signal
impinging on them directly back at the source, the radar gun. Even a small
(6-12") corner cut radar reflector on a yacht, makes a big fat blip on a
radar screen.
An optical example of the principle is seen with street signs on a snowy
evening. Pure white snow will appear black on a stop light made with 3M's
"Scotchlight." Scotchlight uses micro-beads instead of corner cuts, but the
result is pretty much the same. (Scotchlight is what makes f/x "front
projection" work, too.)
S a n d y
_____________________________________________________________
If the law of gravity is fundamental, why can't it be changed
by Constitutional amendment since it's the primary authority?
W W
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The Road Kill Group |*| |*|
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M M
verbigeration (vuhr-bij-uh-RAY-shun) noun
Obsessive repetition of meaningless words and phrases.
[From Latin verbigerare, to talk, chat, from verbum word + gerere, to carry
on + -ation.]
