Abstract
THE use of gaseous discharges as generators of radio noise has been widely reported in the literature, and work in this field is in progress at this Laboratory. Due to the high conductivity of gaseous discharges at microwave frequencies, a major problem in the design of a ‘noise source’ is a suitable means of introducing the discharge plasma into the electromagnetic field of the radio transmission circuit to provide a reflexionless match. It is readily demonstrated that a sudden introduction of a gaseous discharge into the path of an electromagnetic wave will produce a large reflexion of the incident power, and this fact has been used to produce a variable reflector of radio-frequency energy, thus providing in effect a modulated radar target.
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COURT, G. Use of a Gaseous Discharge as an Identifiable Radar Target. Nature 174, 367 (1954). https://doi.org/10.1038/174367a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/174367a0
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