Course (navigation)

Heading and Track (A to B)

In navigation, a course is the intended path of a vehicle over the surface of the Earth. For air
travel, it is the intended flight path of an airplane or the direction of a line drawn on a chart
representing the intended airplane path, expressed as the angle measured from a specific
reference datum clockwise from 0° through 360° to the line. The reference can be true north or
magnetic north and called true course or magnetic course respectively. Course is customarily
expressed in three digits, using preliminary zeros if needed.

In order to be used in a chart, this reference has to be true north.

Determining the true course of a vessel

 Heading (2) is the direction the vessel, aircraft or vehicle is truly "pointing towards" (the
heading of the ship shown in the image is 058°).

 Any reading from a magnetic compass refers to compass north (4), which is supposed to
contain a two-part compass error:
a) The earth's magnetic field's north direction, or magnetic north (3), almost always
differs from true north by magnetic variation (6), the local amount of which is given in
nautical charts, and
b) ship's own magnetic field may influence the compass by so-called magnetic deviation
(5).
Deviation only depends on the ship's own magnetic field and the heading, and therefore
can be checked out and given as a deviation table or, graphically, as a Napier's diagram.

 The compass heading or compass course (7) has to be corrected first for deviation (the
"nearer" error), wherefrom results the magnetic heading (8). Correcting this for variation
yields true heading (2).

 In case of a crosswind (9), and/or tidal or other current (10), the heading will not meet the
desired target, as the vessel will continuously drift sideways; it is necessary to point away
from the intended course to counteract these effects.

Track

A track, also course over ground, is the actual path followed by a moving body, e.g. the vessel's
track from A to B in the above given scheme. Some ambiguity exists in the fact that the path a
navigator intends to follow, after evaluating and counteracting possible effects of wind and
current, is also called track.

1
The track is equivalent to the heading (a bearing "right ahead"), if no crosswind and cross
current occur (2), or the vessel is stationary, but this would hardly ever happen in aviation.

When wind is present, and is not a headwind or tailwind, the wind deflects the aircraft (or
vessel) from its heading.

To correct for the wind, the aircraft or vessel points more or less into the wind. The amount
depends on the vehicle's speed, the wind's speed, and the angle of the wind in relation to the
vehicle. This so-called wind correction angle is computed in advance and is frequently checked
while "rerouted". In the above scheme, the track would be (9) for wind from port side.

GPX is an XML schema for storing track logs.

Notes

 The above scheme shows a magnetic declination of 6° East, as is commonly encountered

in areas of the Pacific Ocean, for instance, and a more-than-somewhat exaggerated
deviation (taken from a fictitious deviation table for educational purpose) of +12°, for a
compass heading of 040°. By conventional degaussing, deviation could usually be kept
beyond 10°, and fluxgate compasses can be degaussed to almost D=0°.
 The possible influences of wind and current are maximized by presupposing a very slow
boat in heavy wind and current.
 To increase readability of the scheme, all possible influences were given as positive, i.e.
variation=East, + 12° deviation, wind and current from port side. The principle is the
same for the opposite of any of the components. Initially a square symbol identifies a
target in the beginning of acquisition and tracking phase. A line (vector) representing the
target's relative direction of movement is displayed after 20 scans (usually less than one
minute). Typically the square designator changes to a circle when steady state tracking is
established after 60 scans. The end of the vector, representing target motion, predicts the
position of the target after a time period between 0.5 and 30 minutes as selected by the
operator. ARPA also shows pas positions of the target with a choice of 5,10 or 20 pas
position dots at intervals of 0.5, 1,2,3, or 6 minutes. ARPA (Automatic Radar Plotting
Aid) and ATA (Automatic Tracking Aid) have the ability to track 60 and 40 targets
respectively at relative speeds of up to 150 knots. Tracked target data is output to other
ship borne systems such as electronic chart systems (ECS). Targets may be acquired
manually or by using the annular and polygonal automatic acquisition zones. The two
conventional annular zones are of variable depth and provide protection over any arc up
to and including a full circle around own ship. The polygonal zones can be drawn to
virtually any shape and are particularly useful for shore-based or other static site
applications. When target tracking, the operator is able to display full target data on any
chosen target or CPA/TCPA data on six selected targets. The six targets may be selected
manually by the operator or automatically by CPA or range.

Bearing (navigation)
In navigation, a bearing is the direction one object is from another object. In navigation, it is
usually the direction of an object from one's own vessel.

Purposes of bearings

Some of the purposes of navigation bearings are

 determining a position
 piloting
2
  warfare and
 search and rescue.

Determining a position

A bearing can be taken relative to a charted object at a specific time. This bearing can be used to
determine the vessel's position, when used in conjunction additional bearing(s) or other
information (e.g. depth).

However, a pre-calculated bearing to a charted object can be used as a warning. For instance, if
anchored in a harbor with a shore to the north, it can be decided that the vessel must stay to the
south of an object to its east. If it does not, an anchor watch must inform someone to take action.
Or, if moving through a channel with obstructions to the west and which is not well-marked with
buoys, it can be decided that the vessel might have to stay to east of a particular charted object.
This types of bearings are called 'limit bearings', 'danger bearings' or 'index bearings'.

Piloting

A bearing can be taken on another vessel to aid piloting. If the two vessels are traveling toward
each other and the relative bearing remains the same over time, there is likelihood of collision
and action needs to be taken by one or both vessels to prevent this.

Warfare

A bearing can be taken to a fixed or moving object in order to target it with gunfire or missiles.

Search and rescue

A bearing can be taken to a person or vessel in distress in order to go to their aid or, when that is
not possible, to report the person or vessel to authorities or someone who can go to their aid.

Types of bearings

Some of the types of bearings are

 True bearings
 Magnetic bearings and
 Compass bearings
 Relative bearings.

A true bearing is measured in relation to true north,that is,using the direction toward the
geographic North Pole as a reference.

A magnetic bearing is measured in relation to magnetic north, that is,using the direction
toward the magnetic north pole (in northeastern Canada) as a reference.

A compass bearing is measured in relation to the vessel's magnetic compass. It should be

very close to the magnetic bearing. The difference between a magnetic bearing and a compass
bearing is the deviation caused to the vessel's compass by ferrous metals and magnetic fields of
the vessel.

A relative bearing is measured in relation to the vessel's bow.

3
Bearing measurement
There are several methods used to measure navigation bearings:

1. A clockwise angle starting from the reference direction and increasing to 359.9 degrees. A
true, magnetic and compass bearing is always measured in this way, with true north, magnetic
north or compass north being 000°. Sometimes a relative bearing is measured in this way, with
000° being straight ahead.

2. An angle measured from straight ahead on each side. Starboard bearings are 'green' and port
bearings are 'red'. Thus, something directly off the starboard side would be 'Green090' or
'G090'. This method is used by the UK Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy in accordance
with the Admiralty Manual of Navigation, BR45. This method only used for a relative bearing.

3. Traditionally, someone on lookout does not have a compass available with which to give an
accurate bearing and might not be numerically literate. Therefore, every forty-five degrees of
direction was divided into four 'points'. Thus, 32 points of 11.25° each makes a circle of 360°.
An object at 022.5° relative would be 'two points off the starboard bow', an object at 101.25°
relative would be 'one point abaft the starboard beam' and an object at 213.75° relative would be
'three points on the port quarter'. This method only used for a relative bearing.

4. An informal, non-nautical method of measuring relative bearing is using the 'clock method'. In
this method, the direction a vessel, aircraft or object is measured as if a clock face is laid over the
vessel or aircraft, with the number twelve pointing forward. Something straight ahead is at
'twelve o'clock', while something directly off to the right is at 'three o'clock'. This method is only
used fo.r a relative bearing.

In surveying, a bearing is the clockwise or counterclockwise angle between north or south and a
direction. Bearings are written in the notation N57°E, S51°E, S21°W, N87°W, N15°W. An
angle that is always measured clockwise from north is called an azimuth. Bearings can be
referenced to true north, magnetic north, grid north (the Y axis of a map projection), or a
previous map, which is often a historical magnetic north.

Other information

If navigating by gyrocompass, the reference direction is true north, in which case the terms true
bearing and geodetic bearing are used. In stellar navigation, the reference direction is that of the
North Star, Polaris.

Generalizing this to two angular dimensions, a bearing is the combination of antenna azimuth
and elevation required to point (aim) an antenna in a given direction. The bearing for
geostationary satellites is constant. The bearing for polar-orbiting satellites varies continuously.

Moving from A to B along a great circle can be considered as always going in the same direction
(the direction of B), but not in the sense of keeping the same bearing, which applies when
following a rhumb line. Accordingly, the direction at A of B, expressed as a bearing, is not in
general the opposite of the direction at B of A (when traveling on the great circle formed by A
and B). For example, assume A and B in the northern hemisphere have the same latitude, and at
A the direction to B is east-northeast. Then going from A to B, one arrives at B with the direction
east-southeast, and conversely, the direction at B of A is west-northwest.

Nautical chart

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 A 1976 United States NOAA chart of part of Puerto Rico

A nautical chart is a graphic representation of a maritime area and adjacent coastal regions.
Depending on the scale of the chart, it may show depths of water and heights of land
(topographic map), natural features of the seabed, details of the coastline, navigational hazards,
locations of natural and man-made aids to navigation, information on tides and currents, local
details of the Earth's magnetic field, and man-made structures such as harbours, buildings and
bridges. Nautical charts are essential tools for marine navigation; many countries require vessels,
especially commercial ships, to carry them. Nautical charting may take the form of charts printed
on paper or computerized electronic navigational charts.

Sources and publication of nautical charts

Nautical charts are based on hydrographic surveys. As surveying is laborious and time-
consuming, hydrographic data for many areas of sea may be dated and not always reliable.
Depths are measured in a variety of ways. Historically the sounding line was used. In modern
times, echo sounding is used for measuring the seabed in the open sea. When measuring the safe
depth of water over an entire obstruction, such as a shipwreck, the minimum depth is checked by
sweeping the area with a length of horizontal wire. This ensures that difficult to find projections,
such as masts, do not present a danger to vessels navigating over the obstruction.

Nautical charts are issued by the national hydrographic offices in many countries. These charts
are considered "official" in contrast to those made by commercial publishers. Many
hydrographic offices provide regular, sometimes weekly, manual updates of their charts through
their sales agents. Individual hydrographic offices produce national chart series and international
chart series. Coordinated by the International Hydrographic Organization, the international chart
series is a worldwide system of charts ("INT" chart series), which is being developed with the
goal of unifying as many chart systems as possible.

There are also commercially published charts, some of which may carry additional information
of particular interest, e.g. for yacht skipper

Chart correction

The nature of a waterway depicted by a chart may change, and artificial aids to navigation may
be altered at short notice. Therefore, old or uncorrected charts should never be used for
navigation. Every producer of nautical charts also provides a system to inform mariners of
changes that affect the chart. In the United States, chart corrections and notifications of new
5
editions are provided by various governmental agencies by way of Notice to Mariners, Local
Notice to Mariners, Summary of Corrections, and Broadcast Notice to Mariners. Radio
broadcasts give advance notice of urgent corrections.

A convenient way to keep track of corrections is with a Chart and Publication Correction
Record Card system. Using this system, the navigator does not immediately update every chart
in the portfolio when a new Notice to Mariners arrives, instead creating a card for every chart
and noting the correction on this card. When the time comes to use the chart, he pulls the chart
and chart's card, and makes the indicated corrections on the chart. This system ensures that every
chart is properly corrected prior to use.

Various and diverse methods exist for the correction of electronic navigational charts.

Map projection, positions, and bearings

A pre-Mercator nautical chart of 1571, from Portuguese cartographer Fernão Vaz Dourado
(c. 1520-c.1580). It belongs to the so-called plane chart model, where observed latitudes and
magnetic directions are plotted directly into the plane, with a constant scale, as if the Earth
were plane (Portuguese National Archives of Torre do Tombo, Lisbon)

6
The Mercator projection is almost universally used in nautical charts. There are however some
exceptions for very large or small scales where projections such as the gnomonic projection may
be used. Since the Mercator projection is conformal, that is, bearings in the chart are identical to
the corresponding angles in nature; bearings may be measured from the chart to be used at sea or
plotted on the chart from measurements taken at sea.

Positions of places shown on the chart can be measured from the longitude and latitude scales on
the borders of the chart, relative to a map datum such as WGS 84.

A bearing is the angle between the line joining the two points of interest and the line from one of
the points to the north, such as a ship’s course or a compass reading to a landmark. On nautical
charts, the top of the chart is always true north, rather than magnetic north, towards which a
magnetic compass points. Most charts include a compass rose depicting the variation between
magnetic and true north.

Electronic and paper charts

Portion of an electronic chart of the Bering Strait

Conventional nautical charts are printed on large sheets of paper at a variety of scales. Mariners
will generally carry many charts to provide sufficient detail for the areas they might need to visit.
Electronic navigational charts, which use computer software and electronic databases to provide
navigation information, can augment or in some cases replace paper charts, though most
mariners carry paper charts as a back up in case the electronic charting system fails.

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Labeling nautical charts

Automatically labeled nautical chart

Nautical charts must be labeled with navigational and depth information. There are a few
software solutions in the market that do label placement automatically for any kind of map or
chart.

Details on a nautical chart

Pilotage information

Detail of a United States NOAA chart, showing a harbour area

The chart uses symbols to provide pilotage information about the nature and position of features
useful to navigators, such as sea bed information, seamarks and landmarks. Some symbols
describe the sea bed with information such as its depth, depth contours, materials as well as
possible hazards such as shipwrecks. Other symbols show the position and characteristics of

8
buoys, lights, lighthouses, coastal and land features and structures that may be useful for position
fixing.

Colour may be used to distinguish between man-made features, dry land, sea bed that dries with
the tide and seabed that is permanently underwater and to indicate water depth.

Depths

Use of colour in British Admiralty charts

Depths which have been measured are indicated by the numbers shown on the chart. Depths on
charts published in most parts of the world use meters. Older charts, as well as those published
by the United States government, may use feet or fathoms. Depth contour lines show the
underwater topography. Coloured areas of the sea emphasis shallow water and dangerous
underwater obstructions. Depths are measured from the chart datum, which will be stated on the
chart; this is often the depth of the lowest tide caused by gravity alone which is known as the
"Lowest Astronomical Tide".

Tidal information

Tidal races and other strong currents have special chart symbols. Tidal flow information may be
shown on charts using tidal diamonds, indicating the speed and bearing of the tidal flow during
each hour of the tidal cycle.

Cardinal direction

9
A compass rose showing the cardinal directions

The four cardinal directions or cardinal points are north, south, east, and west. Most
commonly used for geographic orientation on Earth, they may be calculated anywhere on a
rotating astronomical body. North and south point toward the poles defined by the axis of
rotation. East and west orthogonally point along and opposite the direction of rotation.
Intermediate points between the four cardinal directions form the compass rose and the points of
the compass.

South is always directly opposite north. To an observer facing north and standing upright, east
and west are always to the right and left, respectively. Most devices for finding orientation thus
operate by finding north first. (Any other direction works equally well, if it can be reliably
found.) Several such devices are described below.

Locating the directions

Compass

Most commonly, a magnetic compass is used to approximate the true cardinal directions. Such
devices take advantage of the close alignment of the Earth's magnetic field to its axis. In the
simplest form, a mechanical needle points toward magnetic north, this is taken simply to be true
north. Compasses are disturbed by local magnetic fields, which may result from geographic
features, such as mountains, or nearby metal equipment, especially if it is electrically powered
and unshielded.

The Sun

Most approximately, the Sun can be used for orientation if one knows the general time of day. In
the morning, the Sun is in the east. Around noon, it is in the south in the northern hemisphere or
in the north in the southern hemisphere. After noon, the Sun sets in the west.

Watch face

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Specialized 24-hour watch with compass card dial

An analogue watches clock face can be used to locate north and south. The Sun in the sky
revolves over 24 hours, the hour hand of a 12-hour clock face in 12 hours. Therefore, in the
Northern Hemisphere, rotate the watch such that the hour hand points towards the Sun. Then, the
point halfway between the hour hand and 12 o'clock points towards the south. There are minor
inaccuracies due to the difference between local time and zone time, and due to the equation of
time. During daylight saving time, the same method can be employed using 11 o'clock instead of
12.

In the Southern Hemisphere, the same holds for the northern direction. The method works poorly
at lower latitudes.

The photograph shows a specialized 24-hour watch optimized for finding directions using the
Sun. With the watch set to indicate local time, the hour hand points directly at the Sun. North is
indicated by the local midnight position (in the Northern Hemisphere).

Nighttime stars

Astronomy provides more reliable direction finding at night. The Earth's axis is currently (but
not permanently) pointed, to within a fraction of 1 degree, toward the bright star Polaris. The
exact direction of the axis changes over thousands of years due to the precession of the
equinoxes. We call the end of the Earth's axis that points to Polaris the North Pole. The opposite
end of the axis is named the South Pole. Polaris is also known as the North Star, and is
generically also called a lodestar. Polaris is only visible during fair weather at night to
inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere.

Picking out a specific single star may leave one uncertain they've found the right one. As an aid
to identifying Polaris, the asterism "Big Dipper" may be employed. The 2 corner stars of the
"pan" (those opposite from the handle) point above the top of the "pan" to Polaris. This is
illustrated at this example, the beginning of a tutorial that teaches how to find Polaris. To see the
rest of the tutorial click the link at the bottom of the illustration.

From the Southern Hemisphere, nightly observations of the sky directly above the vicinity of the
true pole will reveal that the visible stars appear to be moving in a circular path. (It is actually the
observer that is moving in the circular path.) This becomes completely obvious when a special
case of long exposure photography is employed to record the observations, by locking the shutter
open for most of the intensely dark part of a moonless night. The resulting photograph reveals a
multitude of concentric arcs (portions of perfect circles) from which the exact center can be
readily derived. The common center is exactly aligned with the true (as opposed to the magnetic)
pole. (This also is true of the Northern Hemisphere, and can be used to verify one has correctly
identified Polaris, which will not appear to move.) A published photograph exposed for nearly 8
hours demonstrates this effect. Note that many digital cameras will exhaust their battery before
achieving the excellent result illustrated here. Either provide an external power source, or use a
film-based camera, to duplicate this effect.

Inertial navigation

At the very end of the 19th century, to avoid the need to wait for fair weather at night to
precisely verify one's alignment with true north, the gyrocompass was developed for ship use in
scenarios where the magnetic compass simply wasn't good enough. It has the further advantages
of immunity to interference by stray magnetic fields, and not depending on Earth's magnetic field
at all. Its major disadvantage is that it depends on technology that many individuals might find
11
too expensive to justify outside the context of a large commercial or military operation. It also
requires a continuous power supply for its motors, and that it be allowed to sit in one location for
a period of time while it properly aligns itself.

Satellite navigation

Near the end of the 20th century the advent of satellite-based Global Positioning Systems
(GPS) provided yet another means for any individual to determine true north accurately. While
GPS Receivers (GPSRs) work best with a clear view of the entire sky, they work day or night,
and in all but the most severe weather. The government agencies responsible for the satellites
continuously monitor and adjust them to maintain their accurate alignment with the Earth. There
are consumer versions of the receivers that are attractively priced. Since there are no periodic
access fees, or other licensing charges, they have become widely used. Handheld GPSRs have
modest power requirements, can be shut down as needed, and become calibrated again within a
couple of minutes of being restarted. In contrast to the gyrocompass, which is most accurate
when stationary, the GPS receiver must be moving, typically at least more than 0.1 mile per
hour, to correctly display compass directions. Within these limitations GPSRs are considered
both accurate and reliable. The GPSR has thus become the fastest and most convenient way to
obtain a verifiable alignment with both true north and true south.

Once the north-south orientation of the Earth's axis is known with precision, east and west are
further refined as following arcs running in planes which are perpendicular to the Earth's axis.

Additional points

The directional names are also routinely and very conveniently associated with the degrees of
rotation in the unit circle, a necessary step for navigational calculations (derived from
trigonometry) and/or for use with Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) Receivers. The four
cardinal directions correspond to the following degrees of a compass:

 North (N): 0° = 360°

 East (E): 90°
 South (S): 180°
 West (W): 270°

An ordinal, or inter cardinal, direction is one of the four intermediate compass directions
located halfway between the cardinal directions.

 Northeast (NE), 45°, halfway between north and east, is the opposite of southwest.
 Southeast (SE), 135°, halfway between south and east, is the opposite of northwest.
 Southwest (SW), 225°, halfway between south and west, is the opposite of northeast.
 Northwest (NW), 315°, halfway between north and west, is the opposite of southeast.

These 8 words have been further compounded, resulting in a total of 32 named (and numbered)
points evenly spaced around the compass. It is noteworthy that there are languages which do not
use compound words to name the points, instead assigning unique words, colors, and/or
associations with phenomena of the natural world.

Usefulness of cardinal points

With the cardinal points thus accurately defined, by convention cartographers draw standard
maps with north (N) at the top, and east (E) at the right. In turn, maps provide a systematic
means to record where places are, and cardinal directions are the foundation of a structure for
telling someone how to find those places.

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North (N) does not have to be at the top. Portable GPS-based navigation computers can be set to
display maps either conventionally (N always up, E always right) or with the current
instantaneous direction of travel, called the heading, always up (and whatever direction is +90°
from that to the right).

The direction of travel required to reach the intended destination is called the bearing. Since the
real world presents numerous obstacles, one must adjust his or her heading accordingly. Upon
moving forward, the bearing will change so that it always points at the destination, thereby
giving clues as to which way one should turn. When you are traveling, it can be easier to figure
out where your next turn is, and whether to turn left or right, when the direction of travel is
always up.

Beyond geography

Children are sometimes taught the order of these directions (clockwise, from North) by using a
mnemonic, such as "Naughty Elephants Squirt Water," "Never Eat Soggy Waffles", "Never Eat
Shredded Wheat" ("Soggy Weet-bix" in Australia & New Zealand), "Never Enter Stinky
Washroom, "Never Eat Slimy Worms," or "Never Eat Sea Weed." Also, "West and East spell
WE."

In mathematics, cardinal directions or cardinal points are the six principal directions or points
along the x-, y- and z-axis of three-dimensional space.

In the real world there are six cardinal directions not involved with geography which are north,
south, east, west, up and down. In this context, up and down relate to elevation or altitude. The
topographic map is a special case of cartography in which the elevation is indicated on the map,
typically via contour lines.

Germanic origin of names

During the Migration Period, the Germanic languages' names for the cardinal directions entered
the Romance languages, where they replaced the Latin names borealis (or septentrionalis) with
north, australis (or meridionalis) with south, occidentalis with west and orientalis with east. It is
possible that some northern people used the Germanic names for the intermediate directions.
Medieval Scandinavian orientation would thus have involved a 45 degree rotation of cardinal
directions.[1]

 North (Proto-Germanic *norþ-) from a root *ner- "left, below", i.e. "to the left of the
rising Sun".
 East (*aus-to-) from the word for dawn, see Eostre.
 South (*sunþ-) is root-cognate to Sun itself, thus "the region of the Sun"
 West (*wes-t-) from a word for "evening", root-cognate to Latin vesper.

Cardinal directions in world cultures

Many cultures not descended from European traditions use cardinal directions, but have a
number other than four. Typically, a “center” direction is added, for a total of five. Rather than
the Western use of direction letters, properties such as colors are often associated with the
various cardinal directions—these are typically the natural colors of human perception rather
than optical primary colors. Some examples are shown here; for more (esp. with regard to
American Indian tribes) see Colors of the Four Directions.

In many regions of the world, prevalent winds change direction seasonally, and consequently
many cultures associate specific named winds with cardinal and ordinal directions. The classical

13
Greeks personified these winds as Anemoi. The article on boxing the compass contains a more
recent list of directional winds from the Mediterranean Sea.

Far East

Asia N E S W C Source
[2][3]
China
[4][5]
Ainu
[4]
Turkic
[6]
Kalmyk’s —
[4]
Tibet

Dynastic Chinese culture and some other Central Asian cultures view the center as a fifth
principal direction hence the English translated term "Five Cardinal Points". Where it is
different than the west is that the term is used as a foundation for I Ching, the Five Elements and
the five Naked-eye planets.

Each direction is often identified with a color, and geographical or ethnic terms may contain the
name of the color instead of the name of the corresponding direction.[2][3] These traditions were
also carried west by the westward migration of the Turkic peoples.

East: Green/Blue (青 "qīng" corresponds to green or blue); Spring; Wood

Qingdao (Tsingtao) "Green Island": a city on the east coast of China

South: Red; Summer; Fire

Red River (Vietnam): south of China

Red Sea: south of Turkey

West: White; Autumn; Metal

White Sheep Turkmen

Ak Deniz "White Sea" in Turkish indicates the Sea of Marmara, the Aegean Sea, or the
Mediterranean Sea

North: Black; Winter; Water

Heilongjiang "Black Dragon River" province in Northeast China, also the Amur River
Black Sea: north of Turkey
Kara-Khitan Khanate

Center: Yellow; Earth

Huangshan "Yellow Mountain" in central China

Golden Horde: "Central Army" of the Mongols

Americas

14
 America N E S W C Source
Apache — [7]
Aztec — [8][9]
[4][10]
Cherokee
[4]
Lakota
[4][8]
Mayan
[4][7]
Navajo —
[4][10]
Pueblo —
[4]
Sioux —

In Mesoamerica and North America, many traditional indigenous beliefs include four cardinal
directions and a center. Each direction was associated with a color, which varied between groups
but which generally corresponded to the hues of corn (green, black, red, white, and yellow).
There seems to be no “preferred” way of assigning these colors; as shown in the table, great
variety in color symbolism occurs even among cultures that are close neighbors geographically.

Non-English names of ordinal directions

In some languages, such as Finnish and Estonian, there are words for ordinal directions that are
not compounds of the names of the cardinal directions (as, for instance, northeast is compounded
from north and east). In Finnish those are (listed clockwise starting from northeast) koillinen,
kaakko, lounas and luode.

Non-compass directional systems

Use of the compass directions is common and deeply embedded in European culture, and
perhaps even more so in Chinese culture (see South Pointing Chariot). Some other cultures make
greater use of other referents, such as towards the sea or towards the mountains (Hawaii, Bali),
or upstream and downstream (most notably in ancient Egypt, also in the Yurok and Karok
languages). Lengo (Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands) has four non-compass directions: landward,
seaward, up coast, and down coast.

Boxing the compass

15
A 16-point compass rose.

An hypothetical 32-point compass rose.

A historic compass card.

Boxing the compass is the action of naming all thirty-two principal points of the compass in
clockwise order. Such names, formed by the initials of the cardinal directions and their
intermediate ordinal directions, are accepted internationally, even though they have their origin
in the English language, and are very handy to refer to a heading (or a course) in a general or
colloquial fashion, without having to resort to computing or recalling angle numbers. Despite the
name of the 1959 Alfred Hitchcock movie, North by Northwest, there is no such direction.

16
However, old-timers allow three letter directions to have a 'by' inserted between the first and
second letter. Hence, NNW becomes North by Northwest, per Hitchcock's title.

Compass points

# Compass point Abbr. Traditional wind point True heading

32 North N Tramontana 0.00°
1 North by east NbE 11.25°
2 North-northeast NNE 22.50°
3 Northeast by north NEbN 33.75°
4 Northeast NE Greco Bora 45.00°
5 Northeast by east NEbE 56.25°
6 East-northeast ENE 67.50°
7 East by north EbN 78.75°
8 East E Levante 90.00°
9 East by south EbS 101.25°
10 East-southeast ESE 112.50°
11 Southeast by east SEbE 123.75°
12 Southeast SE Sirocco 135.00°
13 Southeast by south SEbS 146.25°
14 South-southeast SSE 157.50°
15 South by east SbE 168.75°
16 South S Ostro 180.00°
17 South by west SbW 191.25°
18 South-southwest SSW 202.50°
19 Southwest by south SWbS 213.75°
20 Southwest SW Libeccio 225.00°
21 Southwest by west SWbW 236.25°
22 West-southwest WSW 247.50°
23 West by south WbS 258.75°
24 West W Ponente Zephyrus 270.00°
25 West by north WbN 281.25°
26 West-northwest WNW 292.50°
27 Northwest by west NWbW 303.75°
28 Northwest NW Mistral 315.00°
29 Northwest by north NWbN 326.25°
30 North-northwest NNW 337.50°
31 North by west NbW 348.75°

Compass
17
A simple dry magnetic pocket compass

A compass (or mariner compass) is a navigational instrument for finding directions on the
Earth. It consists of a magnetized pointer free to align itself accurately with Earth's magnetic
field, which is of great assistance in navigation. The face of the compass generally highlights the
cardinal points of north, south, east and west. The compass greatly improved maritime trade by
making travel safer and more efficient. A compass can be used to calculate heading, used with a
sextant to calculate latitude, and with a marine chronometer to calculate longitude). It thus
provides a much improved navigational capability, which has only been recently supplanted by
modern devices such as the gyrocompass and the Global Positioning System (GPS).

An early form of the compass (a magnetized needle floating in water) was invented in China
sometime before 1044. The familiar dry mariner's compass was invented in Europe around
1300[1]. This was supplanted in the 20th century by the liquid-filled magnetic compass.
Fundamentally, the classic compass is any magnetically sensitive device able to indicate the
direction of the magnetic north of a planet's magnetosphere. Often compasses are built as a
stand-alone sealed instrument with a magnetized bar or needle turning freely upon a pivot, or
moving in a fluid, thus able to point in a northerly and southerly direction.

Many enhancements to the compass have been developed. A compass dial is a small pocket
compass with a sundial. A variation compass is a specific instrument of a delicate type of
construction. It is used by observing variations of the needle. An orienteering compass consists
of a ruggedized needle compass permanently attached to a transparent baseplate containing tools
to assist the user in working with maps in a field setting (as opposed to in an office at a desk).

Other, more accurate, devices have been invented for determining north that do not depend on
the Earth's magnetic field for operation (known in such cases as true north, as opposed to
magnetic north). A gyrocompass or astrocompass can be used to find true north, while being
unaffected by stray magnetic fields, nearby electrical power circuits or nearby large masses of
ferrous metals. A recent development is the electronic compass, which detects the magnetic
directions without requiring moving parts. This device frequently appears as an optional
subsystem built into GPS receivers.

Construction of a simple compass

18
A magnetic rod is required when constructing a compass. This can be created by aligning an iron
or steel rod with Earth's magnetic field and then tempering or striking it. However, this method
produces only a weak magnet so other methods are preferred. For example, a magnetised rod can
be created by repeatedly rubbing an iron rod with a magnetic lodestone. This magnetised rod (or
magnetic needle) is then placed on a low friction surface to allow it to freely pivot to align itself
with the magnetic field. It is then labeled so the user can distinguish the north-pointing from the
south-pointing end; in modern convention the north end is typically marked in some way, often
by being painted red.

History of the navigational compass

Navigation prior to the compass

Prior to the introduction of the compass, position and direction at sea was primarily determined
by the sighting of landmarks, supplemented with the observation of the position of celestial
bodies. Ancient mariners usually kept within easy sight of land. The invention of the compass
enabled the determination of heading when the sky was overcast or foggy. And, when the sun or
other known celestial bodies could be observed, it enabled the calculation of latitude. This
enabled mariners to navigate safely away from land, contributing to the Age of Discovery.

Mesoamerica

Based on his find of an Olmec hematite artifact in Central America, the American astronomer
John Carlson has suggested that "the Olmec may have discovered and used the geomagnetic
lodestone compass earlier than 1000 BC". If true, this "predates the Chinese discovery of the
geomagnetic lodestone compass by more than a millennium".Carlson speculates that the Olmecs
may have used similar artifacts as a directional device for astrological or geomantic purposes, or
to orientate their temples, the dwellings of the living or the interments of the dead.

The artifact itself is part of a lodestone that had been polished into a bar with a groove at one end
(that Carlson suggests may have been used for sighting). The artifact now consistently points
35.5 degrees west of north, but may have pointed north-south when whole. It has been suggested
that the artifact was in fact used as some constituent piece of a decorative ornament. No other
similar hematite artifacts have yet been found.

Needle-and-bowl device

By rubbing a needle on another magnet, the needle becomes magnetized and when placed in a
cork and put in a bowl of water it becomes a compass. This device was universally used as a
compass until the introduction of the box-like compass with a pivoting "dry" needle around
1300.

China

Due to disagreement as to when the compass was invented, it may be appropriate to list some
noteworthy Chinese literary references offered as possible evidence for its antiquity, in
chronological order:

19
Model of a Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD) south-indicating ladle or sinan.

 The earliest Chinese literature reference to magnetism lies in a 4th century BC book
called Book of the Devil Valley Master (鬼谷子): "The lodestone makes iron come or it
attracts it."
 The first mention of the magnetic attraction of a needle is to be found in a Chinese
work composed between 20 and 100 AD (Lun Heng): "A lodestone attracts a needle."In
1948, the scholar Wang Tchen-touo tentatively constructed a "compass" in the form of
south-indicating spoon on the basis of this text. However, it should be noted that "there is
no explicit mention of a magnet in the Louen-heng" and that "beforehand it needs to
assume some hypotheses to arrive at such a conclusion."
 The earliest reference to a specific magnetic direction finder device is recorded in a
Song Dynasty book dated to 1040-44. Here we find a description of an iron "south-
pointing fish" floating in a bowl of water, aligning itself to the south. The device is
recommended as a means of orientation "in the obscurity of the night." As Li Shu-hua
pointed out in 1954, there was no mention of a use for navigation, nor how the fish was
magnetized. However, in Needham's publication Science and Civilization in China:
Volume 4, Part 1 in 1962, he proved otherwise, as Wang Chenduo had pointed out. The
Wujing Zongyao (武经总要, "Collection of the Most Important Military Techniques") of
1044 stated: "When troop’s encountered gloomy weather or dark nights, and the
directions of space could not be distinguished...they made use of the [mechanical] south-
pointing carriage, or the south-pointing fish." This was achieved by heating of metal
(especially if steel), known today as thermo-remanence, and would have been capable
of producing a weak state of magnetization.
 The first incontestable reference to a magnetized needle in Chinese literature appears as
early as 1088 AD. The Dream Pool Essays, written by the Song Dynasty polymath
scientist Shen Kuo, contained a detailed description of how geomancers magnetized a
needle by rubbing its tip with lodestone, and hung the magnetic needle with one single
strain of silk with a bit of wax attached to the center of the needle. Shen Kuo pointed out
that a needle prepared this way sometimes pointed south, sometimes north.
 The earliest recorded actual use of a magnetized needle for navigational purposes then
is to be found in Zhu Yu's book Pingzhou Table Talks (萍洲可談; Pingzhou Ketan) of
AD 1119 (written from 1111 to 1117 AD): The navigator knows the geography, he
watches the stars at night, watches the sun at day; when it is dark and cloudy, he
watches the compass. This of course would have been aided by Shen Kuo's discovery
(while working as the court's head astronomer) of the concept of true north: magnetic
declination towards the magnetic north pole away from the polestar.

Thus, the first clear instance of a magnetic direction finder, a compass, appeared ca. 1044.
However, it should be pointed out that the compass remained in use by the Chinese in the form
of a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water.

20
According to Needham, the Chinese in the Song Dynasty and continuing Yuan Dynasty did
make use of a dry compass, although this type never became as widely used in China as the wet
compass.Evidence of this is found in the Shilinguangji ("Guide Through the Forest of Affairs"),
first published in 1325 by Chen Yuanjing, although its compilation had taken place between
1100 and 1250 AD.The dry compass in China was a dry suspension compass, a wooden frame
crafted in the shape of a turtle hung upside down by a board, with the loadstone sealed in by
wax, and if rotated, the needle at the tail would always point in the northern cardinal direction.
Although the 14th century European compass-card in box frame and dry pivot needle was
adopted in China after its use was taken by Japanese pirates in the 16th century (who had in turn
learned of it from Europeans), the Chinese design of the suspended dry compass persisted in use
well into the 18th century.

However, according to Kreutz there is only a single Chinese reference to a dry-mounted needle
(built into a pivoted wooden tortoise) which is dated to between 1150 and 1250, but there is no
indication that Chinese mariners ever used anything but the floating needle in a bowl until the
16th-century European contacts.

Additionally, it must be pointed out that, unlike Needham, other experts on the history of the
compass make no mention of an indigenous dry compass in China and reserve the term for the
European form which became later worldwide standard.

Later developments in China

Diagram of a Ming Dynasty mariner's compass

 The first recorded use of a 48 position mariner's compass on sea navigation was noted in
a book titled “The Customs of Cambodia” by Yuan dynasty diplomat Zhou Daguan, he
described his 1296 voyage from Wenzhou to Angkor Thom in detail; when his ship set
sailed from Wenzhou, the mariner took a needle direction of “ding wei” position, which
is equivalent to 22.5 degree SW. After they arrived at Baria, the mariner took "Kun Shen
needle" , or 52.5 degree SW.
 Zheng He's Navigation Map, also known as "The Mao Kun Map", contains a large
amount of detail "needle records" of Zheng He's travel.
 A pilot's compass handbook titled Shun Feng Xiang Song (Fair Winds for Escort) in the
Oxford Bodleian Library contains great details about the use of compass in navigation.

21
Question of diffusion

Navigational sailor's compass rose.

There is much debate on what happened to the compass after its first appearance with the
Chinese. Different theories include:

 Direct transfer of the compass from China to Europe, and then later from China or
Europe to the Middle East.
 Independent creation of the compass in Europe, and thereafter its transfer from China or
Europe to the Middle East.
 Travel of the compass from China to the Middle East via the Silk Road, and then to
Europe.

The latter two are supported by evidence of the earlier mentioning of the compass in European
works rather than Arabic. The first European mention of a magnetized needle and its use among
sailors occurs in Alexander Neckam's De naturis rerum (On the Natures of Things), probably
written in Paris in 1190. Other evidence for this includes the Arabic word for "Compass" (al-
konbas), possibly being a derivation of the old Italian word for compass.

In the Arab world, the earliest reference comes in The Book of the Merchants' Treasure, written
by one Baylak al-Kibjaki in Cairo about 1282. Since the author describes having witnessed the
use of a compass on a ship trip some forty years earlier, some scholars are inclined to antedate its
first appearance accordingly. There is also a slightly earlier non-Mediterranean Muslim reference
to an iron fish-like compass in a Persian talebook from 1232.

Question of independent European invention

22
Pivoting compass needle in a 14th century copy of Epistola de magnete of Peter Peregrinus
(1269)

There have been various arguments put forward whether the European compass was an
independent invention or not:

Arguments pro independent invention:

 The apparent failure of the Arabs to function as possible intermediaries between East and
West due to the earlier recorded appearance of the compass in Europe (1190)than in the
Muslim world (1232, 1242, or 1282).
 The common shape of the early compass as a magnetized needle floating in a bowl of
water.
 The European compass showed from the beginning sixteen basic divisions, not twenty-
four as in China.

Arguments contra independent invention:

 The temporal priority of the Chinese navigational compass (1040-44) as opposed to the
European (1190).
 The navigational needle in Europe points invariably north, whereas nearly always south
in China.

Impact in the Mediterranean

In the Mediterranean, the introduction of the mariner's compass, at first only known as a
magnetized pointer floating in a bowl of water, went hand in hand with improvements in dead
reckoning methods, and the development of Portolan charts, leading to more navigation during
winter months in the second half of the 13th century.While the practice from ancient times had
been to curtail sea travel between October and April, due in part to the lack of dependable clear
skies during the Mediterranean winter, the prolongation of the sailing season resulted in a
gradual, but sustained increase in shipping movement: By around 1290 the sailing season could
start in late January or February, and end in December.The additional few months were of
considerable economic importance. For instance, it enabled Venetian convoys to make two
round trips a year to the Levant, instead of one.

At the same time, traffic between the Mediterranean and northern Europe also increased, with
first evidence of direct commercial voyages from the Mediterranean into the English Channel
coming in the closing decades of the 13th century, and one factor may be that the compass made

23
traversal of the Bay of Biscay safer and easier.Although critics like Kreutz feels that it was later
in 1410 that anyone really started steering by compass.

Mining

The use of a compass as a direction finder underground was pioneered by the Tuscan mining
town Massa where floating magnetic needles were employed for determining tunneling and
defining the claims of the various mining companies as early as the 13th century.In the second
half of the 15th century, the compass belonged to the standard equipment of Tyrolian miners,
and shortly afterwards a first detailed treatise dealing with the underground use of compasses
was published by the German miner Rülein von Calw (1463-1525).

Dry compass

The familiar dry compass (commonly called a mariner's compass) was invented in Europe
around 1300. The dry mariner's compass consists of three elements: A freely pivoting needle on
a pin enclosed in a little box with a glass cover and a wind rose, whereby "the wind rose or
compass card is attached to a magnetized needle in such a manner that when placed on a pivot in
a box fastened in line with the keel of the ship the card would turn as the ship changed direction,
indicating always what course the ship was on".While pivoting needles in glass boxes had
already been described by the French scholar Peter Peregrinus in 1269,there is an inclination to
honour tradition and credit Flavio Gioja (fl. 1302), an Italian marine pilot from Amalfi, with
perfecting the sailor's compass by suspending its needle over a compass card, giving thus the
compass its familiar appearance.Such a compass with the needle attached to a rotating card is
also described in a commentary on Dante's Divine Comedy from 1380, while an earlier source
refers to a portable compass in a box (1318),supporting the notion that the dry compass was
known in Europe by then.

Bearing compass

Bearing compass (18th century).

A bearing compass is a magnetic compass mounted in such a way that it allows the taking of
bearings of objects by aligning them with the lubber line of the bearing compass.A surveyor's
compass is a specialized compasses made to accurately measure heading of landmarks and
measure horizontal angles to help with map making. These were already in common use by the
early 18th century and are described in the 1728 Cyclopaedia. Later, a prism and lens was
mounted on top of a compass in such a way that enabled the user to accurately sight the heading
of geographical landmarks, thus creating the prismatic compass. The Bezard compass was
24
invented in 1906, and consists of a compass with a mirror mounted above it.This enabled the
user to easily see the face of the compass while also walking and viewing the surrounding
landscape.

Modern compasses

Liquid filled lensatic compass

Modern compasses usually use a magnetized needle or dial inside a fluid-filled capsule (oil,
kerosene, or alcohol is common). The fluid dampens the movement of the needle and causes the
needle to stabilize quickly rather than oscillate back and forth around magnetic north. North on
the needle or dial is usually marked with phosphorescent paint, to enable the compass to be read
at night or poor light.

Many modern hands held recreational and military compasses integrate a protractor with the
compass, using a separate magnetized needle. In this design the rotating capsule containing the
magnetized needle is fitted with orienting lines and an outlined orienting arrow, and then
mounted in a transparent baseplate containing a direction-of-travel (DOT) indicator for use in
taking bearings directly from a map.

Other features found on some modern compasses are map and romer scales for measuring
distances and plotting positions on maps, luminous markings on the face or bezels, various
sighting mechanisms (mirror, prism, etc.) for taking bearings of distant objects with greater
precision, "global" needles for use in differing hemispheres, adjustable declination for obtaining
instant true bearings without resort to arithmetic, and devices such as inclinometers for
measuring gradients.

The military forces of a few nations, notably the United States Army, continue to utilize older
lensatic card compass designs with magnetized compass dials instead of needles. A lensatic card
compass permits reading the bearing off of the compass card with only a slight downward glance
from the sights (see photo), but requires a separate protractor for use with a map. The official
U.S. military lensatic compass does not use fluid to dampen needle swing, but rather
electromagnetic induction to dampen the needle. A "deep-well" design is used to allow the
compass to be used globally with little or no effect in accuracy caused by a tilting compass dial.
As induction forces provide less damping than fluid-filled designs, a needle lock is fitted to the
compass to reduce wear, operated by the folding action of the rear sight/lens holder. The use of

25
air-filled induction compasses has declined over the years, as they may become inoperative or
inaccurate in freezing temperatures or humid environments.

Mariner's compasses can have two or more magnetic needles permanently attached to a compass
card. These move freely on a pivot. A lubber line, which can be a marking on the compass bowl
or a small fixed needle, indicates the ship's heading on the compass card. Traditionally the card
is divided into thirty-two points (known as rhumbs), although modern compasses are marked in
degrees rather than cardinal points. The glass-covered box (or bowl) contains a suspended
gimbal within a binnacle. This preserves the horizontal position.

Some modern military compasses, like the SandY-183, contain the radioactive material tritium
(3H) and a combination of phosphors. The SandY-183 contained 120mCi (millicuries) of
tritium. The purpose of the tritium and phosphors is to provide illumination for the compass.
This illumination is a form of fluorescence, not requiring the compass to be "recharged" by
sunlight or artificial light. The name SandY-183 is derived from the name of the company,
Stocker and Yale (SandY)

Points of the compass

Main article: Boxing the compass

Originally, many compasses were marked only as to the direction of magnetic north, or to the
four cardinal points (north, south, east, and west). Later, mariners divided the compass card into
thirty-two equally spaced points divided from the cardinal points. For a table of the thirty-two
points, see compass points.

The 360-degree system later took hold, which is still in use today for civilian navigators. The
degree dial spaces the compass markings with 360 equidistant points. Other nations adopted the
"grad" system, which spaces the dial into 400 grads or points.

Most military defense forces have adopted the "mil" system, in which the compass dial is spaced
into 6400 units (some nation’s use 6000) or "mils" for additional precision when measuring
angles, laying artillery, etc. The value to the military is that one mil subtends approximately one
metre at a distance of one kilometer.

Former Warsaw Pact countries (Soviet Union, GDR etc.) used a 60° graduation, often
counterclockwise (see picture of wrist compass). This is still in use in Russia.

Gyrocompass

Main article: Gyrocompass

A gyrocompass is similar to a gyroscope. It is a compass that finds true north by using an

(electrically powered) fast-spinning wheel and friction forces in order to exploit the rotation of
the Earth. Gyrocompasses are widely used on ships. They have two main advantages over
magnetic compasses:

 They find true north, i.e., the direction of Earth's rotational axis, as opposed to magnetic
north,
 They are not affected by ferrous metal in a ship's hull. (No compass is affected by
nonferrous metal, although a magnetic compass will be affected by non-ferrous wires
with current running through them.)

Large ships typically rely on a gyrocompass, using the magnetic compass only as a backup.
Increasingly, electronic fluxgate compasses are used on smaller vessels. However compasses are
26
still widely in use as they can be small, use simple reliable technology, are comparatively cheap,
often easier to use than GPS, require no energy supply, and unlike GPS, are not affected by
objects, e.g, trees that can block the reception of electronic signals.

Solid state compasses

Small compasses found in clocks, cell phones, e.g., the Nokia 5140i, and other electronic gear
are solid-state devices, usually built out of two or three magnetic field sensors that provide data
for a microprocessor. Using trigonometry the correct heading relative to the compass is
calculated.

Often, the device is a discrete component which outputs either a digital or analog signal
proportional to its orientation. This signal is interpreted by a controller or microprocessor and
used either internally, or sent to a display unit. An example implementation, including parts list
and circuit schematics, shows one design of such electronics. The sensor uses precision
magnetics and highly calibrated internal electronics to measure the response of the device to the
Earth's magnetic field. The electrical signal is then processed or digitized.

Specialty compasses

A range of specialty compasses would include a Qibla compass, which is used by Muslims to
show the direction to Mecca for prayers. Similarly, a Jerusalem compass is used by Jews to point
the direction of Jerusalem for prayers.

Other specialty compasses include the optical or prismatic hand-bearing compass, often used by
surveyors, cave explorers, or mariners. This compass uses an oil-filled capsule and magnetized
compass dial with an integral optical or prismatic sight, often fitted with built-in
photoluminescent or battery-powered illumination. Using the optical or prism sight, such
compasses can be read with extreme accuracy when taking bearings to an object, often to
fractions of a degree. Most of these compasses are designed for heavy-duty use, with solid metal
housings, and many are fitted for tripod mounting for additional accuracy.

Using a compass

Turning the compass scale on the map (D - the local magnetic declination)

27
When the needle is aligned with and superimposed over the outlined orienting arrow on the
bottom of the capsule, the degree figure on the compass ring at the direction-of-travel (DOT)
indicator gives the magnetic bearing to the target (mountain).

The simplest way of using a compass is to know that the arrow always points in the same
direction, magnetic North, which is roughly similar to true north. Except in areas of extreme
magnetic declination variance (20 degrees or more), this is enough to protect from walking in a
substantially different or even opposite direction than expected over short distances, provided the
terrain is fairly flat and visibility is not impaired. In fact, by carefully recording distances (time
or paces) and magnetic bearings traveled, one can plot a course and return to one's starting point
using the compass alone.

However, compass navigation used in conjunction with a map (terrain association) requires a
different compass method. To take a map bearing or true bearing (a bearing taken in reference to
true, not magnetic north) to a destination with a protractor compass, the edge of the compass is
placed on the map so that it connects the current location with the desired destination (some
sources recommend physically drawing a line). The orienting lines in the base of the compass
dial are then rotated to align with actual or true north by aligning them with a marked line of
longitude (or the vertical margin of the map), ignoring the compass needle entirely. The resulting
true bearing or map bearing may then be read at the degree indicator or direction-of-travel
(DOT) line, which may be followed as an azimuth (course) to the destination. If a magnetic
north bearing or compass bearing is desired, the compass must be adjusted by the amount of
magnetic declination before using the bearing so that both map and compass are in agreement. In
the given example, the large mountain in the second photo was selected as the target destination
on the map.

The modern hand-held protractor compass always has an additional direction-of-travel (DOT)
arrow or indicator inscribed on the baseplate. To check one's progress along a course or azimuth,
or to ensure that the object in view is indeed the destination, a new compass reading may be
taken to the target if visible (here, the large mountain). After pointing the DOT arrow on the
baseplate at the target, the compass is oriented so that the needle is superimposed over the
orienting arrow in the capsule. The resulting bearing indicated is the magnetic bearing to the
target. Again, if one is using "true" or map bearings, and the compass does not have preset, pre-
adjusted declination, one must additionally add or subtract magnetic declination to convert the
magnetic bearing into a true bearing. The exact value of the magnetic declination is place-
dependent and varies over time, though declination is frequently given on the map itself or
obtainable on-line from various sites. If not, any local walker club should know it. If the hiker
has been following the correct path, the compass' corrected (true) indicated bearing should
closely correspond to the true bearing previously obtained from the map.

28
Compass correction

Main article: Magnetic deviation

A binnacle containing a ship's steering compass, with the two iron balls which correct the
effects of ferromagnetic materials

Like any magnetic device, compasses are affected by nearby ferrous materials as well as by
strong local electromagnetic forces. Compasses used for wilderness land navigation should never
be used in close proximity to ferrous metal objects or electromagnetic fields (batteries, car
bonnets (automobile hoods), engines, steel pitons, wristwatches, etc.)

Compasses used in or near trucks, cars or other mechanized vehicles are particularly difficult to
use accurately, even when corrected for deviation by the use of built-in magnets or other devices.
Large amounts of ferrous metal combined with the on-and-off electrical fields caused by the
vehicle's ignition and charging systems generally result in significant compass errors.

At sea, a ship's compass must also be corrected for errors, called deviation, caused by iron and
steel in its structure and equipment. The ship is swung, that is rotated about a fixed point while
its heading is noted by alignment with fixed points on the shore. A compass deviation card is
prepared so that the navigator can convert between compass and magnetic headings. The
compass can be corrected in three ways. First the lubber line can be adjusted so that it is aligned
with the direction in which the ship travels, and then the effects of permanent magnets can be
corrected for by small magnets fitted within the case of the compass. The effect of ferromagnetic
materials in the compass's environment can be corrected by two iron balls mounted on either side
of the compass binnacle. The coefficient a0 representing the error in the lubber line, while a1, b1
the ferromagnetic effects and a2, b2 the non-ferromagnetic component.

A similar process is used to calibrate the compass in light general aviation aircraft, with the
compass deviation card often mounted permanently just above or below the magnetic compass
on the instrument panel.

Fluxgate compasses can be calibrated automatically, and can also be programmed with the
correct local compass variation so as to indicate the true heading.

29
Compass balancing

Because the Earth's magnetic field's inclination and intensity vary at different latitudes,
compasses are often balanced during manufacture. Most manufacturers balance their compass
needles for one of five zones, ranging from zone 1, covering most of the Northern Hemisphere,
to zone 5 covering Australia and the southern oceans. This balancing prevents excessive dipping
of one end of the needle which can cause the compass card to stick and give false readings.

Gallery

Compass with prism (inverted graduation)

Compass with prism (bearing 220° through eyepiece)

A simple compass typical to a small yacht

A compass suitable for orienteering at night

30
Gyrocompass

Cutaway of Anschütz gyrocompass

A gyrocompass is similar to a gyroscope. It is a compass that finds true north by using an

(electrically powered) fast-spinning wheel and friction forces in order to exploit the rotation of
the Earth. Gyrocompasses are widely used on ships. They have two main advantages over
magnetic compasses:

 They find true north, i.e., the direction of Earth's rotational axis, as opposed to magnetic
north,
 They are not affected by ferrous metal in a ship's hull. (No compass is affected by
nonferrous metal, although a magnetic compass will be affected by non-ferrous wires
with current running through them.)

A gyrocompass is essentially a gyroscope, a spinning wheel mounted on gimbals so that the

wheel's axis is free to orient itself in any way. Suppose it is spun up with its axis pointing in
some direction other than the North Star. Because of the law of conservation of angular
momentum, such a wheel will maintain its original orientation. Since the Earth rotates, it appears
to a stationary observer on Earth that a gyroscope's axis is rotating once every 24 hours. Such a
rotating gyroscope cannot be used for navigation. The crucial additional ingredient needed for a
gyrocompass is some mechanism that results in applied torque whenever the compass's axis is
not pointing north.

One method uses friction to apply the needed torque: the gyroscope in a gyrocompass is not
completely free to reorient itself; if for instance a device connected to the axis is immersed in a
viscous fluid, then that fluid will resist reorientation of the axis. This friction force caused by the
fluid results in a torque acting on the axis, causing the axis to turn in a direction orthogonal to the
torque (that is, to precess) towards the north celestial pole (approximately toward the North
Star). Once the axis points toward the North Star, it will appear to be stationary and won't
experience any more friction forces. This is because true north is the only direction for which the
gyroscope can remain on the surface of the earth and not be required to change. This is
considered to be a point of minimum potential energy.

Another, more practical, method is to use weights to force the axis of the compass to remain
horizontal with respect to the Earth's surface, but otherwise allow it to rotate freely within that
plane. In this case, gravity will apply a torque forcing the compass's axis toward true north.
Because the weights will confine the compass's axis to be horizontal with respect to the Earth's
31
surface, the axis can never align with the Earth's axis (except on the Equator) and must realign
itself as the Earth rotates. But with respect to the Earth's surface, the compass will appear to be
stationary and pointing along the Earth's surface toward the true North Pole.

Since the operation of a gyrocompass crucially depends on the rotation of the Earth, it won't
function correctly if the vessel it is mounted on is moving fast in an east to west direction.

History
The gyrocompass was patented in 1885 by the Dutch Marinus Gerardus van den Bos; however,
his device never worked properly. In 1889, Captain Arthur Krebs designed an electric pendular
gyroscope for the experimental French submarine Gymnote. It allowed the Gymnote to force a
naval blockade in 1890.In 1903, the German Hermann Anschütz-Kaempfe (Raytheon Anschütz
GmbH) constructed a working gyrocompass and obtained a patent on the design. In 1908,
Anschütz-Kaempfe and the American inventor Elmer Ambrose Sperry patented the gyrocompass
in Germany and the US. When Sperry attempted to sell this device to the German navy in 1914,
Anschütz-Kaempfe sued for patent infringement. Sperry argued that Anschütz-Kaempfe's patent
was invalid because it did not significantly improve on the earlier van den Bos patent. Albert
Einstein testified in the case, first agreeing with Sperry but then reversing himself and finding
that Anschütz-Kaempfe's patent was valid and that Sperry had infringed by using a specific
damping method. Anschütz-Kaempfe won the case in 1915.

Dividers
A divider, also known as a measuring compass, is a mathematical, drafting or cartographic
instrument used to aid measurements of the length of irregular lines and of distances on maps or
charts. It is commonly used in geometry and in nautical navigation. It is similar in appearance to
a drafting compass, the difference being that the compass has a spike on one end and a pencil (or
other drawing utensil) on the other which allows the drawing of circles, whereas the dividers has
spikes on both ends. Often a compass can be fitted with a spike in place of the drawing utensil
and thus converted to dividers.

Note that in older usage in British English, 'dividers' and 'compasses' are plural nouns.

Measuring the length of an irregular line

The use of dividers to measure an approximate distance a–b on an irregular line is as follows:

1. The dividers are opened (extended) on a ruler so the points are a distance apart
corresponding to a convenient unit of length on the ruler, such as an inch or a centimetre.
This is known as the sampling length or scale interval.
2. The dividers are placed with one spike on point a and the other along the line towards b.
3. The dividers are then 'walked' along the line by holding one spike in place and rotating
the dividers 180º to bring the other leg further along the line.
4. The numbers of ‘steps’ in the walk to reach point ‘b’ are counted. In practice the last step
to reach b will be less than the sampling length.
5. The dividers are then closed up to the distance of the last step, and placed on the ruler to
measure its length.
6. The total length is calculated as number of steps times the sampling length plus the length
of the last incomplete step. If the sampling length is 1 cm and it took 12 'full' steps and
one last step of 0.6 cm to reach b, the total length of the line is about 12.6 cm.

This approximation can be improved by using a smaller sampling length (or by optically
enlarging the line by a known ratio and repeating, taking into account the enlargement ratio).
32
Each time a smaller sampling length is used, the measurement will come out slightly larger, and
if the line is not fractal, the measurement will tend towards a limit. If the line is a fractal, its
length measurement will theoretically increase without limit. Measurements of a coastline
behave somewhere in between.

In digital mapping, measuring and navigation technology, the dividers are replaced by software
tools for measuring irregular lines with very small sampling lengths assuring great accuracy.

Measuring a distance on a chart in nautical navigation

The process is similar, but a straightedge is aligned with a-b and a line is drawn between them on
the chart. The straightedge is for best results but the same can be done without it if utmost
accuracy is not required.

1. The dividers are opened (extended) on the chart scale so the points are a distance apart
corresponding to a round number, such as the equivalent of five miles on the chart scale.
2. The dividers are placed as before with one spike on point a and the other along the line
towards b.
3. The dividers are then 'walked' along the line in the same way, counting the steps.
4. Suppose this is done six times, then we know we have counted 6 times 5 = 30 miles.
Now we are left with a segment smaller than 5 miles. We close the dividers to bring the
free spike to point b and we then take the dividers to the scale and measure the distance.
Suppose it is 2.6 miles. We now know the total distance is 30 + 2.6 = 32.6 miles.

Sextant

Sextant.

A sextant is an instrument generally used to measure the altitude of a celestial object above the
horizon. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking
a sight. The angle, and the time when it was measured, can be used to calculate a position line on
a nautical or aeronautical chart. A common use of the sextant is to sight the sun at noon to find
one's latitude. See celestial navigation for more discussion. Held horizontally, the sextant can be
used to measure the angle between any two objects, such as between two lighthouses, which
will, similarly, allow for calculation of a line of position on a chart.

33
The scale of a sextant has a length of 1⁄6 of a full circle (60°); hence the sextant's name (sextāns, -
antis is the Latin word for "one sixth", "εξάντας" in Greek). An octant is a similar device
with a shorter scale (1⁄8 of a circle, or 45°), whereas a quintant (1⁄5, or 72°) and a quadrant (1⁄4, or
90°) have longer scales.

Sir Isaac Newton (1643-1727) invented the principle of the doubly reflecting navigation
instrument (a reflecting quadrant), but never published it. Two men independently developed the
octant around 1730: John Hadley (1682-1744), an English mathematician, and Thomas Godfrey
(1704-1749), an optician in Philadelphia. The octant and later the sextant, replaced the Davis
quadrant as the main instrument for navigation.

Octant and logbook on board the frigate Grand Turk

Navigational Sextants
This section discusses navigator's sextants. Most of what is said about these specific sextants
applies equally to other types of sextants. Navigator's sextants were primarily used for celestial
navigation

Advantages

Like the Davis quadrant (also called backstaff), the sextant allows celestial objects to be
measured relative to the horizon, rather than relative to the instrument. This allows excellent
precision. However, unlike the backstaff, the sextant allows direct observations of stars. This
permits the use of the sextant at night when a backstaff is difficult to use. For solar observations,
filters allow direct observation of the sun.

Since the measurement is relative to the horizon, the measuring pointer is a beam of light that
reaches to the horizon. The measurement is thus limited by the angular accuracy of the
instrument and not the sine error of the length of an alidade, as it is in a mariner's astrolabe or
similar older instrument.

The horizon and celestial object remain steady when viewed through a sextant, even when the
user is on a moving ship. This occurs because the sextant views the (unmoving) horizon directly,
and views the celestial object through two opposed mirrors that subtract the motion of the sextant
from the reflection.
34
The sextant is not dependent upon electricity (unlike many forms of modern navigation) or
anything human-controlled (like GPS satellites). For these reasons, it is considered an eminently
practical back-up navigation tool for ships.

Anatomy of a sextant

Marine Sextant

Using the sextant to measure the altitude of the Sun above the horizon

The index arm moves the index mirror. The indicator points at the arc to show the measurement.
The body ties everything together.

There are two types of sextants. Both types can give good results, and the choice between them
is personal.

Traditional sextants have a half-horizon mirror. It divides the field of view in two. On one side,
there is a view of the horizon; on the other side, a view of the celestial object. The advantage of
this type is that both the horizon and celestial object are bright and as clear as possible. This is
superior at night and in haze, when the horizon can be difficult to see. However, one has to
sweep the celestial object to ensure that the lowest limb of the celestial object touches the
horizon.
35
Whole-horizon sextants use a half-silvered horizon mirror to provide a full view of the horizon.
This makes it easy to see when the bottom limb of a celestial object touches the horizon. Since
most sights are of the sun or moon, and haze is rare without overcast, the low-light advantages of
the half-horizon mirror are rarely important in practice.

In both types, larger mirrors give a larger field of view, and thus make it easier to find a celestial
object. Modern sextants often have 5cm or larger mirrors, while 19th century sextants rarely had
a mirror larger than 2.5cm (one inch). In large part, this is because precision flat mirrors have
grown less expensive to manufacture and to silver.

An artificial horizon is useful when the horizon is invisible. This occurs in fog, on moonless
nights, in calm, when sighting through a window or on land surrounded by trees or buildings.
Professional sextants can mount an artificial horizon in place of the horizon-mirror assembly. An
artificial horizon is usually a mirror that views a fluid-filled tube with a bubble.

Most sextants also have filters for use when viewing the sun and reducing the effects of haze.

Most sextants mount a 1 or 3 powers monocular for viewing. Many users prefer a simple
sighting tube, which has a wider, brighter field of view and is easier to use at night. Some
navigators mount a light-amplifying monocular to help see the horizon on moonless nights.
Others prefer to use a lit artificial horizon.

Professional sextants use a click-stop degree measure and a worm adjustment that reads to a
minute, 1/60 of a degree. Most sextants also include a vernier on the worm dial that reads to 0.2
minute. Since 1 minute of error is about a nautical mile, the best possible accuracy of celestial
navigation is about 0.1 nautical miles (200 m). At sea, results within several nautical miles, well
within visual range, are acceptable. A highly-skilled and experienced navigator can determine
position to an accuracy of about 0.25-nautical-mile (460 m).

A change in temperature can warp the arc, creating inaccuracies. Many navigators purchase
weatherproof cases so that their sextant can be placed outside the cabin to come to equilibrium
with outside temperatures. The standard frame designs (see illustration) are supposed to equalise
differential angular error from temperature changes. The handle is separated from the arc and
frame so that body heat does not warp the frame. Sextants for tropical use are often painted white
to reflect sunlight and remain relatively cool.High-precision sextants have an invar (special low-
expansion steel) frame and arc. Some scientific sextants have been constructed of quartz or
ceramics with even lower expansions. Many commercial sextants use low expansion brass or
aluminium. Brass is lower-expansion than aluminium, but aluminium sextants are lighter and
less tiring to use. Some say they are more accurate because one's hand trembles less.

Aircraft sextants are now out of production, but had special features. Most had artificial horizons
to permit taking a sight through a flush overhead window. Some also had mechanical averagers
to make hundreds of measurements per sight for compensation of random accelerations in the
artificial horizon's fluid. Older aircraft sextants had two visual paths, one standard and the other
designed for use in open-cockpit aircraft that let one view from directly over the sextant in one's
lap. More modern aircraft sextants were periscopic with only a small projection above the
fuselage. With these, the navigator pre-computed his sight and then noted the difference in
observed versus predicted height of the body to determine his position.

After a sight is taken, it is reduced to a position by following any of several mathematical

procedures. The simplest sight reduction is to draw the equal-elevation circle of the sighted
celestial object on a globe. The intersection of that circle with a dead-reckoning track, or another
sighting gives a more precise location.

36
Care

A sextant is a delicate instrument. If dropped, the arc might bend. After one has been dropped, its
accuracy is suspect. Recertification is possible with surveying instruments and a large field, or
with precision optical instruments. Repair is not possible.

To avoid worries about bent arcs, serious navigators traditionally buy their sextants new.
Common wisdom is that a used sextant is probably bent. Many navigators refuse to share their
sextant, to ensure that its integrity is traceable. A used sextant lacking a case is very likely to
have a bent arc.

Most sextants come with a neck-lanyard; all but the cheapest come with a case. Traditional care
is to put on the neck lanyard before removing the sextant from its case and to always case the
sextant between sights.

Adjustment

Due to the sensitivity of the instrument it is easy to knock the mirrors out of adjustment. For this
reason a sextant should be checked frequently for errors and adjusted accordingly.

There are four errors that can be adjusted by the navigator and they should be removed in the
following order.

Perpendicularity error
This is when the index mirror is not perpendicular to the frame of the sextant. To test for
this, place the index arm at about 60° on the arc and hold the sextant horizontally with the
arc away from you at arms length and look into the index mirror. The arc of the sextant
should appear to continue unbroken into the mirror. If there is an error then the two views
will appear to be broken. Adjust the mirror until the reflection and direct view of the arc
appear to be continuous.
Side error
This occurs when the horizon glass/mirror is not perpendicular to the plane of the
instrument. To test for this, first zero the index arm then observe a star through the
sextant. Then rotate the tangent screw back and forth so that the reflected image passes
alternately above and below the direct view. If in changing from one position to another
the reflected image passes directly over the unreflected image, no side error exists. If it
passes to one side, side error exists. The user can hold the sextant on its side and observe
the horizon to check the sextant during the day. If there are two horizons there is side
error; adjust the horizon glass/mirror until the stars merge into one image or the horizons
are merged into one.
Collimation error
This is when the telescope or monocular is not parallel to the plane of the sextant. To
check for this you need to observe two stars 90° or more apart. Bring the two stars into
coincidence either to the left or the right of the field of view. Move the sextant slightly so
that the stars move to the other side of the field of view. If they separate there is
collimation error.
Index error
This occurs when the index and horizon mirrors are not parallel to each other when the
index arm is set to zero. To test for index error, zero the index arm and observe the
horizon. If the reflected and direct images of the horizon are in line there is no index
error. If one is above the other adjust the index mirror until the two horizons merge. This
can be done at night with a star or with the moon.

37
.

Radar.

This long-range radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in
conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll.[1]

Radar is a system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or
speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather
formations, and terrain. The term RADAR was coined in 1941 as an acronym for Radio
Detection and Ranging. The term has since entered the English language as a standard word,
radar, losing the capitalization. Radar was originally called RDF (Radio Direction Finder) in the
United Kingdom.

A radar system has a transmitter that emits either radio waves or (more usually these days)
microwaves that are reflected by the target and detected by a receiver, typically in the same
location as the transmitter. Although the signal returned is usually very weak, the signal can be
amplified. This enables radar to detect objects at ranges where other emissions, such as sound or
visible light, would be too weak to detect. Radar is used in many contexts, including
meteorological detection of precipitation, measuring ocean surface waves, air traffic control,
police detection of speeding traffic, and by the military.

History
Several inventors, scientists, and engineers contributed to the development of radar. The first to
use radio waves to detect "the presence of distant metallic objects" was Christian Hülsmeyer,
who in 1904 demonstrated the feasibility of detecting the presence of a ship in dense fog, but not
its distance.He received Reichspatent Nr. 165546 for his pre-radar device in April 1904, and later
patent 169154 for a related amendment for ranging. He also received a patent in England for his
telemobiloscope on September 22, 1904. Nikola Tesla, in August 1917, first established
principles regarding frequency and power level for the first primitive radar units.He stated, "[...]
by their [standing electromagnetic waves] use we may produce at will, from a sending station, an
electrical effect in any particular region of the globe; [with which] we may determine the
relative position or course of a moving object, such as a vessel at sea, the distance traversed by
the same, or its speed."

Before the Second World War, developments by the Americans (Dr. Robert M. Page tested the
first monopulse radar in 1934),[9] the Germans, the French (French Patent n° 788795 in 1934)[10]
[11]
and mainly the British who were the first to fully exploit it as a defence against aircraft attack
38
(British Patent GB593017 by Robert Watson-Watt in 1935)[11][12][13] led to the first real radars.
Hungarian Zoltán Bay produced a working model by 1936 at the Tungsram laboratory in the
same vein.

In 1934, Émile Girardeau, working with the first French radar systems, stated he was building
radar systems "conceived according to the principles stated by Tesla".

The war precipitated research to find better resolution, more portability and more features for the
new defence technology. Post-war years have seen the use of radar in fields as diverse as air
traffic control, weather monitoring, astrometry and road speed control.

Principles
Reflection

Brightness can indicate reflectivity as in this 1960 weather radar image. The radar's frequency,
pulse form, and antenna largely determine what it can observe.

Electromagnetic waves reflect (scatter) from any large change in the dielectric or diamagnetic
constants. This means that a solid object in air or a vacuum, or other significant change in atomic
density between the object and what's surrounding it, will usually scatter radar (radio) waves.
This is particularly true for electrically conductive materials, such as metal and carbon fiber,
making radar particularly well suited to the detection of aircraft and ships. Radar absorbing
material, containing resistive and sometimes magnetic substances, is used on military vehicles to
reduce radar reflection. This is the radio equivalent of painting something a dark color.

Radar waves scatter in a variety of ways depending on the size (wavelength) of the radio wave
and the shape of the target. If the wavelength is much shorter than the target's size, the wave will
bounce off in a way similar to the way light is reflected by a mirror. If the wavelength is much
longer than the size of the target, the target is polarized (positive and negative charges are
separated), like a dipole antenna. This is described by Rayleigh scattering, an effect that creates
the Earth's blue sky and red sunsets. When the two length scales are comparable, there may be
resonances. Early radars used very long wavelengths that were larger than the targets and
received a vague signal, whereas some modern systems use shorter wavelengths (a few
centimeters or shorter) that can image objects as small as a loaf of bread.

Short radio waves reflect from curves and corners, in a way similar to glint from a rounded piece
of glass. The most reflective targets for short wavelengths have 90° angles between the reflective
surfaces. A structure consisting of three flat surfaces meeting at a single corner, like the corner
on a box, will always reflect waves entering its opening directly back at the source. These so-
called corner reflectors are commonly used as radar reflectors to make otherwise difficult-to-
detect objects easier to detect, and are often found on boats in order to improve their detection in
a rescue situation and to reduce collisions. For similar reasons, objects attempting to avoid
39
detection will angle their surfaces in a way to eliminate inside corners and avoid surfaces and
edges perpendicular to likely detection directions, which leads to "odd" looking stealth aircraft.
These precautions do not completely eliminate reflection because of diffraction, especially at
longer wavelengths. Half wavelength long wires or strips of conducting material, such as chaff,
are very reflective but do not direct the scattered energy back toward the source. The extent to
which an object reflects or scatters radio waves is called its radar cross section.

Radar equation

The amount of power Pr returning to the receiving antenna is given by the radar equation:

Where

 Pt = transmitter power
 Gt = gain of the transmitting antenna
 Ar = effective aperture (area) of the receiving antenna
 σ = radar cross section, or scattering coefficient, of the target
 F = pattern propagation factor
 Rt = distance from the transmitter to the target
 Rr = distance from the target to the receiver.

In the common case where the transmitter and the receiver are at the same location, Rt = Rr and
the term Rt² Rr² can be replaced by R4, where R is the range. These yields:

This shows that the received power declines as the fourth power of the range, which means that
the reflected power from distant targets is very, very small.

The equation above with F = 1 is a simplification for vacuum without interference. The
propagation factor accounts for the effects of multipath and shadowing and depends on the
details of the environment. In a real-world situation, pathloss effects should also be considered.

Other mathematical developments in radar signal processing include time-frequency analysis

(Weyl Heisenberg or wavelet), as well as the chirplet transform which makes use of the fact that
radar returns from moving targets typically "chirp" (change their frequency as a function of time,
as does the sound of a bird or bat).

Polarization

In the transmitted radar signal, the electric field is perpendicular to the direction of propagation,
and this direction of the electric field is the polarization of the wave. Radars use horizontal,
vertical, linear and circular polarization to detect different types of reflections. For example,
circular polarization is used to minimize the interference caused by rain. Linear polarization
returns usually indicate metal surfaces. Random polarization returns usually indicate a fractal
surface, such as rocks or soil, and are used by navigation radars.

40
Interference

Radar systems must overcome several different sources of unwanted signals in order to focus
only on the actual targets of interest. These unwanted signals may originate from internal and
external sources, both passive and active. The ability of the radar system to overcome these
unwanted signals defines its signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). SNR is defined as the ratio of a signal
power to the noise power within the desired signal.

In less technical terms, signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), compares the level of a desired signal (such
as targets) to the level of background noise. The higher a system's SNR, the better it is in
isolating actual targets from the surrounding noise signals.

Noise

Signal noise is an internal source of random variations in the signal, which is inherently
generated to some degree by all electronic components. Noise typically appears as random
variations superimposed on the desired echo signal received in the radar receiver. The lower the
power of the desired signal, the more difficult it is to discern it from the noise (similar to trying
to hear a whisper while standing near a busy road). Therefore, the most important noise sources
appear in the receiver and much effort is made to minimize these factors. Noise figure is a
measure of the noise produced by a receiver compared to an ideal receiver, and this needs to be
minimized.

Noise is also generated by external sources, most importantly the natural thermal radiation of the
background scene surrounding the target of interest. In modern radar systems, due to the high
performance of their receivers, the internal noise is typically about equal to or lowers than the
external scene noise. An exception is if the radar is aimed upwards at clear sky, where the scene
is so cold that it generates very little thermal noise.

There will be also Flicker noise due to electrons transit, but depending on 1/f, will be much
lower than thermal noise when the frequency is high. Hence, in pulse radar, the system will be
always heterodyne. See intermediate frequency.

Clutter

Clutter refers to actual radio frequency (RF) echoes returned from targets which are by definition
uninteresting to the radar operators in general. Such targets mostly include natural objects such
as ground, sea, precipitation (such as rain, snow or hail), sand storms, animals (especially birds),
atmospheric turbulence, and other atmospheric effects, such as ionosphere reflections and meteor
trails. Clutter may also be returned from man-made objects such as buildings and, intentionally,
by radar countermeasures such as chaff.

Some clutter may also be caused by a long radar waveguide between the radar transceiver and
the antenna. In a typical plan position indicator (PPI) radar with a rotating antenna, this will
usually be seen as a "sun" or "sunburst" in the centre of the display as the receiver responds to
echoes from dust particles and misguided RF in the waveguide. Adjusting the timing between
when the transmitter sends a pulse and when the receiver stage is enabled will generally reduce
the sunburst without affecting the accuracy of the range, since most sunburst is caused by a
diffused transmit pulse reflected before it leaves the antenna.

While some clutter sources may be undesirable for some radar applications (such as storm clouds
for air-defence radars), they may be desirable for others (meteorological radars in this example).
Clutter is considered a passive interference source, since it only appears in response to radar
signals sent by the radar.

41
There are several methods of detecting and neutralizing clutter. Many of these methods rely on
the fact that clutter tends to appear static between radar scans. Therefore, when comparing
subsequent scans echoes, desirable targets will appear to move and all stationary echoes can be
eliminated. Sea clutter can be reduced by using horizontal polarization, while rain is reduced
with circular polarization (note that meteorological radars wish for the opposite effect, therefore
using linear polarization the better to detect precipitation). Other methods attempt to increase the
signal-to-clutter ratio.

CFAR (Constant False-Alarm Rate, a form of Automatic Gain Control, or AGC) is a method
relying on the fact that clutter returns far outnumber echoes from targets of interest. The
receiver's gain is automatically adjusted to maintain a constant level of overall visible clutter.
While this does not help detect targets masked by stronger surrounding clutter, it does help to
distinguish strong target sources. In the past, radar AGC was electronically controlled and
affected the gain of the entire radar receiver. As radars evolved, AGC became computer-software
controlled, and affected the gain with greater granularity, in specific detection cells.

Radar multipath echoes from an actual target cause ghosts to appear.

Clutter may also originate from multipath echoes from valid targets due to ground reflection,
atmospheric ducting or ionospheric reflection/refraction. This specific clutter type is especially
bothersome, since it appears to move and behave like other normal (point) targets of interest,
thereby creating a ghost. In a typical scenario, an aircraft echo is multipath-reflected from the
ground below, appearing to the receiver as an identical target below the correct one. The radar
may try to unify the targets, reporting the target at an incorrect height, or - worse - eliminating it
on the basis of jitter or a physical impossibility. These problems can be overcome by
incorporating a ground map of the radar's surroundings and eliminating all echoes which appear
to originate below ground or above a certain height. In newer Air Traffic Control (ATC) radar
equipment, algorithms are used to identify the false targets by comparing the current pulse
returns, to those adjacent, as well as calculating return improbabilities due to calculated height,
distance, and radar timing.

Jamming

Radar jamming refers to radio frequency signals originating from sources outside the radar,
transmitting in the radar's frequency and thereby masking targets of interest. Jamming may be
intentional, as with an electronic warfare (EW) tactic, or unintentional, as with friendly forces
operating equipment that transmits using the same frequency range. Jamming is considered an
active interference source, since it is initiated by elements outside the radar and in general
unrelated to the radar signals.

Jamming is problematic to radar since the jamming signal only needs to travel one-way (from the
jammer to the radar receiver) whereas the radar echoes travel two-ways (radar-target-radar) and
are therefore significantly reduced in power by the time they return to the radar receiver.
Jammers therefore can be much less powerful than their jammed radars and still effectively mask
targets along the line of sight from the jammer to the radar (Mainlobe Jamming). Jammers have
an added effect of affecting radars along other lines of sight, due to the radar receiver's sidelobes
(Sidelobe Jamming).
42
Mainlobe jamming can generally only be reduced by narrowing the mainlobe solid angle, and
can never fully be eliminated when directly facing a jammer which uses the same frequency and
polarization as the radar. Sidelobe jamming can be overcome by reducing receiving sidelobes in
the radar antenna design and by using an omnidirectional antenna to detect and disregard non-
mainlobe signals. Other anti-jamming techniques are frequency hopping and polarization. See
Electronic counter-counter-measures for details.

Interference has recently become a problem for C-band (5.66 GHz) meteorological radars with
the proliferation of 5.4 GHz band WiFi equipment.

Radar signal processing

Distance measurement

Transit time

Pulse radar

One way to measure the distance to an object is to transmit a short pulse of radio signal
(electromagnetic radiation), and measure the time it takes for the reflection to return. The
distance is one-half the product of round trip time (because the signal has to travel to the target
and then back to the receiver) and the speed of the signal. Since radio waves travel at the speed
of light (186,000 miles per second or 300,000,000 meters per second), accurate distance
measurement requires high-performance electronics.

In most cases, the receiver does not detect the return while the signal is being transmitted.
Through the use of a device called a duplexer, the radar switches between transmitting and
receiving at a predetermined rate. The minimum range is calculated by measuring the length of
the pulse multiplied by the speed of light, divided by two. In order to detect closer targets one
must use a shorter pulse length.

A similar effect imposes a maximum range as well. If the return from the target comes in when
the next pulse is being sent out, once again the receiver cannot tell the difference. In order to
maximize range, one wants to use longer times between pulses, or commonly referred to as a
pulse repetition time (PRT), or its inverse, pulse repetition frequency (PRF).

These two effects tend to be at odds with each other, and it is not easy to combine both good
short range and good long range in a single radar. This is because the short pulses needed for a
good minimum range broadcast have less total energy, making the returns much smaller and the
target harder to detect. This could be offset by using more pulses, but this would shorten the
maximum range again. So each radar uses a particular type of signal. Long-range radars tend to
use long pulses with long delays between them, and short range radars use smaller pulses with
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less time between them. This pattern of pulses and pauses is known as the pulse repetition
frequency (or PRF), and is one of the main ways to characterize a radar. As electronics have
improved many radars now can change their PRF thereby changing their range. The newest
radars actually fire 2 pulses during one cell, one for short range (~6 miles) and a separate signal
for longer ranges (~60 miles).

The distance resolution and the characteristics of the received signal as compared to noise
depends heavily on the shape of the pulse. The pulse is often modulated to achieve better
performance thanks to a technique known as pulse compression.

Distance may also be measured as a function of time. The Radar Mile is the amount of time it
takes for a radar pulse to travel one Nautical Mile, reflect off a target, and return to the radar
antenna. Since a Nautical Mile is defined as exactly 1,852 meters, then dividing this distance by
the speed of light (exactly 299,792,458 meters per second), and then multiplying the result by 2
(round trip = twice the distance), yields a result of approximately 12.36 microseconds in
duration.

Frequency modulation

Another form of distance measuring radar is based on frequency modulation. Frequency

comparison between two signals is considerably more accurate, even with older electronics, than
timing the signal. By changing the frequency of the returned signal and comparing that with the
original, the difference can be easily measured.

This technique can be used in continuous wave radar, and is often found in aircraft radar
altimeters. In these systems a "carrier" radar signal is frequency modulated in a predictable way,
typically varying up and down with a sine wave or sawtooth pattern at audio frequencies. The
signal is then sent out from one antenna and received on another, typically located on the bottom
of the aircraft, and the signal can be continuously compared using a simple beat frequency
modulator that produces an audio frequency tone from the returned signal and a portion of the
transmitted signal.

Since the signal frequency is changing, by the time the signal returns to the aircraft the broadcast
has shifted to some other frequency. The amount of that shift is greater over longer times, so
greater frequency differences mean a longer distance, the exact amount being the "ramp speed"
selected by the electronics. The amount of shift is therefore directly related to the distance
traveled, and can be displayed on an instrument. This signal processing is similar to that used in
speed detecting Doppler radar. Example systems using this approach are AZUSA, MISTRAM,
and UDOP.

A further advantage is that the radar can operate effectively at relatively low frequencies,
comparable to that used by UHF television. This was important in the early development of this
type when high frequency signal generation was difficult or expensive.

Speed measurement

Speed is the change in distance to an object with respect to time. Thus the existing system for
measuring distance, combined with a memory capacity to see where the target last was, is
enough to measure speed. At one time the memory consisted of a user making grease-pencil
marks on the radar screen, and then calculating the speed using a slide rule. Modern radar
systems perform the equivalent operation faster and more accurately using computers.

However, if the transmitter's output is coherent (phase synchronized), there is another effect that
can be used to make almost instant speed measurements (no memory is required), known as the
Doppler effect. Most modern radar systems use this principle in the pulse-doppler radar system.
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Return signals from targets are shifted away from this base frequency via the Doppler effect
enabling the calculation of the speed of the object relative to the radar. The Doppler effect is
only able to determine the relative speed of the target along the line of sight from the radar to the
target. Any component of target velocity perpendicular to the line of sight cannot be determined
by using the Doppler effect alone, but it can be determined by tracking the target's azimuth over
time. Additional information of the nature of the Doppler returns may be found in the radar
signal characteristics article.

It is also possible to make a radar without any pulsing, known as a continuous-wave radar (CW
radar), by sending out a very pure signal of a known frequency. CW radar is ideal for
determining the radial component of a target's velocity, but it cannot determine the target's range.
CW radar is typically used by traffic enforcement to measure vehicle speed quickly and
accurately where range is not important.

Reduction of interference effects

Signal processing is employed in radar systems to reduce the radar interference effects. Signal
processing techniques include moving target indication (MTI), pulse doppler, moving target
detection (MTD) processors, correlation with secondary surveillance radar (SSR) targets, space-
time adaptive processing (STAP), and track-before-detect (TBD). Constant false alarm rate
(CFAR) and digital terrain model (DTM) processing are also used in clutter environments.

Plot and Track Extraction

Radar video returns on aircraft can be subjected to a plot extraction process whereby spurious
and interfering signals are discarded. A sequence of target returns can be monitored through a
device known as a plot extractor. The non relevant real time returns can be removed from the
displayed information and a single plot displayed. A sequence of plots can then be monitored
and a 'track' formed, thus easing the identification of a genuine aircraft target through unwanted
and non relevant radar returns.

Radar engineering

Radar components

Radar has different components:

 A transmitter that generates the radio signal with an oscillator such as a klystron or a
magnetron and controls its duration by a modulator.
 A waveguide that links the transmitter and the antenna.
 A duplexer that serves as a switch between the antenna and the transmitter or the receiver
for the signal when the antenna is used in both situations.
 A receiver. Knowing the shape of the desired received signal (a pulse), an optimal
receiver can be designed using a matched filter.

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  An electronic section that controls all those devices and the antenna to perform the radar
scan ordered by software.
 A link to end users.

Antenna design

Radio signals broadcast from a single antenna will spread out in all directions, and likewise a
single antenna will receive signals equally from all directions. This leaves the radar with the
problem of deciding where the target object is located.

Early systems tended to use omni-directional broadcast antennas, with directional receiver
antennas which were pointed in various directions. For instance the first system to be deployed,
Chain Home, used two straight antennas at right angles for reception, each on a different display.
The maximum return would be detected with an antenna at right angles to the target, and a
minimum with the antenna pointed directly at it (end on). The operator could determine the
direction to a target by rotating the antenna so one display showed a maximum while the other
shows a minimum.

One serious limitation with this type of solution is that the broadcast is sent out in all directions,
so the amount of energy in the direction being examined is a small part of that transmitted. To
get a reasonable amount of power on the "target", the transmitting aerial should also be
directional.

Parabolic reflector

More modern systems use a steerable parabolic "dish" to create a tight broadcast beam, typically
using the same dish as the receiver. Such systems often combine two radar frequencies in the
same antenna in order to allow automatic steering, or radar lock

Parabolic reflectors can be either symmetric parabolas or spoiled parabolas:

 Symmetric parabolic antennas produce a narrow "pencil" beam in both the X and Y
dimensions and consequently have a higher gain. The NEXRAD Pulse-Doppler weather
radar uses a symmetric antenna to perform detailed volumetric scans of the atmosphere.
 Spoiled parabolic antennas produce a narrow beam in one dimension and a relatively
wide beam in the other. This feature is useful if target detection over a wide range of
angles is more important than target location in three dimensions. Most 2D surveillance
radars use a spoiled parabolic antenna with a narrow azimuthal beamwidth and wide
vertical beamwidth. This beam configuration allows the radar operator to detect an
aircraft at a specific azimuth but at an indeterminate height. Conversely, so-called
"nodder" height finding radars use a dish with a narrow vertical beamwidth and wide
azimuthal beamwidth to detect an aircraft at a specific height but with low azimuthal
precision.

Types of scan

1. Primary Scan: A scanning technique where the main antenna aerial is moved to produce a
scanning beam, examples include circular scan, sector scan etc
2. Secondary Scan: A scanning technique where the antenna feed is moved to produce a
scanning beam, examples include conical scan, unidirectional sector scan, lobe switching
etc.
3. Palmer Scan: A scanning technique that produces a scanning beam by moving the main
antenna and its feed. A Palmer Scan is a combination of a Primary Scan and a Secondary
Scan.

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Phased array: Not all radar antennas must rotate to scan the sky.

Slotted waveguide

Applied similarly to the parabolic reflector, the slotted waveguide is moved mechanically to scan
and is particularly suitable for non-tracking surface scan systems, where the vertical pattern may
remain constant. Owing to its lower cost and less wind exposure, shipboard, airport surface, and
harbour surveillance radars now use this in preference to the parabolic antenna.

Phased array

Another method of steering is used in phased array radar. This uses an array of similar aerials
suitably spaced, the phase of the signal to each individual aerial being controlled so that the
signal is reinforced in the desired direction and cancels in other directions. If the individual
aerials are in one plane and the signal is fed to each aerial in phase with all others then the signal
will reinforce in a direction perpendicular to that plane. By altering the relative phase of the
signal fed to each aerial the direction of the beam can be moved because the direction of
constructive interference will move. Because phased array radars require no physical movement
the beam can scan at thousands of degrees per second, fast enough to irradiate and track many
individual targets, and still run a wide-ranging search periodically. By simply turning some of
the antennas on or off, the beam can be spread for searching, narrowed for tracking, or even split
into two or more virtual radars. However, the beam cannot be effectively steered at small angles
to the plane of the array, so for full coverage multiple arrays are required, typically disposed on
the faces of a triangular pyramid (see picture).

Phased array radars have been in use since the earliest years of radar use in World War II, but
limitations of the electronics led to fairly poor accuracy. Phased array radars were originally used
for missile defense. They are the heart of the ship-borne Aegis combat system, and the Patriot
Missile System, and are increasingly used in other areas because the lack of moving parts makes
them more reliable, and sometimes permits a much larger effective antenna, useful in fighter
aircraft applications that offer only confined space for mechanical scanning.

As the price of electronics has fallen, phased array radars have become more and more common.
Almost all modern military radar systems are based on phased arrays, where the small additional
cost is far offset by the improved reliability of a system with no moving parts. Traditional
moving-antenna designs are still widely used in roles where cost is a significant factor such as air
traffic surveillance, weather radars and similar systems.

Phased array radars are also valued for use in aircraft, since they can track multiple targets. The
first aircraft to use phased array radar is the B-1B Lancer. The first aircraft fighter to use phased
array radar was the Mikoyan MiG-31. The MiG-31M's SBI-16 Zaslon phased array radar is
considered to be the world's most powerful fighter radar. Phased-array interferometry or,
aperture synthesis techniques, using an array of separate dishes that are phased into a single
effective aperture, are not typically used for radar applications, although they are widely used in
radio astronomy. Because of the Thinned array curse, such arrays of multiple apertures, when

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used in transmitters, result in narrow beams at the expense of reducing the total power
transmitted to the target. In principle, such techniques used could increase the spatial resolution,
but the lower power means that this is generally not effective. Aperture synthesis by post-
processing of motion data from a single moving source, on the other hand, is widely used in
space and airborne radar systems

Frequency bands

The traditional band names originated as code-names during World War II and are still in
military and aviation use throughout the world in the 21st century. They have been adopted in
the United States by the IEEE, and internationally by the ITU. Most countries have additional
regulations to control which parts of each band are available for civilian or military use.

Other users of the radio spectrum, such as the broadcasting and electronic countermeasures
(ECM) industries, have replaced the traditional military designations with their own systems.

Radar frequency bands

Band Frequency Wavelength
Notes
Name Range Range
coastal radar systems, over-the-horizon radar (OTH) radars;
HF 3–30 MHz 10–100 m
'high frequency'
'P' for 'previous', applied retrospectively to early radar
P < 300 MHz 1 m+
systems
50–330 MH
VHF 0.9–6 m very long range, ground penetrating; 'very high frequency'
z
300–1000 M very long range (e.g. ballistic missile early warning), ground
UHF 0.3–1 m
Hz penetrating, foliage penetrating; 'ultra high frequency'
L 1–2 GHz 15–30 cm long range air traffic control and surveillance; 'L' for 'long'
terminal air traffic control, long-range weather, marine radar;
S 2–4 GHz 7.5–15 cm
'S' for 'short'
Satellite transponders; a compromise (hence 'C') between X
C 4–8 GHz 3.75–7.5 cm
and S bands; weather
missile guidance, marine radar, weather, medium-resolution
mapping and ground surveillance; in the USA the narrow
X 8–12 GHz 2.5–3.75 cm
range 10.525 GHz ±25 MHz is used for airport radar. Named
X band because the frequency was a secret during WW2.
high-resolution mapping, satellite altimetry; frequency just
Ku 12–18 GHz 1.67–2.5 cm
under K band (hence 'u')
From German kurz, meaning 'short'; limited use due to
absorption by water vapour, so Ku and Ka were used instead
K 18–27 GHz 1.11–1.67 cm for surveillance. K-band is used for detecting clouds by
meteorologists, and by police for detecting speeding
motorists. K-band radar guns operate at 24.150 ± 0.100 GHz.
mapping, short range, airport surveillance; frequency just
above K band (hence 'a') Photo radar, used to trigger cameras
Ka 27–40 GHz 0.75–1.11 cm
which take pictures of license plates of cars running red
lights, operates at 34.300 ± 0.100 GHz.
Millimetre band, subdivided as below. The frequency ranges
7.5 mm – 1 depend on waveguide size. Multiple letters are assigned to
Mm 40–300 GHz
mm these bands by different groups. These are from Baytron, a
now defunct company that made test equipment.
7.5 mm – 5
Q 40–60 GHz Used for Military communication.
mm
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V 50–75 GHz 6.0–4 mm Very strongly absorbed by the atmosphere.
E 60–90 GHz 6.0–3.33 mm
Used as a visual sensor for experimental autonomous
W 75–110 GHz 2.7 – 4.0 mm vehicles, high-resolution meteorological observation, and
imaging.

Radar modulators

Modulators act to provide the short pulses of power to the magnetron, a special type of vacuum
tube that converts DC (usually pulsed) into microwaves. This technology is known as Pulsed
power. In this way, the transmitted pulse of RF radiation is kept to a defined, and usually, very
short duration. Modulators consist of a high voltage pulse generator formed from an HV supply,
a pulse forming network, and a high voltage switch such as a thyratron.

A klystron tube may also be used as a modulator because it is an amplifier, so it can be

modulated by its low power input signal.

Radar coolant

Coolanol and PAO (poly-alpha olefin) are the two main coolants used to cool airborne radar
equipment today.

The U.S. Navy has instituted a program named Pollution Prevention (P2) to reduce or eliminate
the volume and toxicity of waste, air emissions, and effluent discharges. Because of this
Coolanol is used less often today.

PAO is a synthetic lubricant composition is a blend of a polyol ester admixed with effective
amounts of an antioxidant, yellow metal pacifier and rust inhibitors. The polyol ester blend
includes a major proportion of poly (neopentyl polyol) ester blend formed by reacting
poly(pentaerythritol) partial esters with at least one C7 to C12 carboxylic acid mixed with an
ester formed by reacting a polyol having at least two hydroxyl groups and at least one C8-C10
carboxylic acid. Preferably, the acids are linear and avoid those which can cause odours during
use. Effective additives include secondary arylamine antioxidants, triazole derivative yellow
metal pacifier and an amino acid derivative and substituted primary and secondary amine and/or
diamine rust inhibitor.

A synthetic coolant/lubricant composition, comprising an ester mixture of 50 to 80 weight

percent of poly (neopentyl polyol) ester formed by reacting a poly (neopentyl polyol) partial
ester and at least one linear monocarboxylic acid having from 6 to 12 carbon atoms, and 20 to 50
weight percent of a polyol ester formed by reacting a polyol having 5 to 8 carbon atoms and at
least two hydroxyl groups with at least one linear monocarboxylic acid having from 7 to 12
carbon atoms, the weight percents based on the total weight of the composition.

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Radar functions and roles

Surface search radar display commonly found on ships

Detection and search radars

 Early Warning (EW) Radar Systems

o Early Warning Radar
o Ground Control Intercept (GCI) Radar
o Airborne Early Warning (AEW)
o Over-the-Horizon (OTH) Radar
 Target Acquisition (TA) Radar Systems
o Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) Systems
o Anti-Aircraft Artillery (AAA) Systems
 Surface Search (SS) Radar Systems
o Surface Search Radar
o Coastal Surveillance Radar
o Harbour Surveillance Radar
o Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Radar
 Height Finder (HF) Radar Systems
 Gap Filler Radar Systems

Threat radars

 Target Tracking (TT) Systems

o AAA Systems
o SAM Systems
o Precision Approach Radar (PAR) Systems
 Multi-Function Systems
o Fire Control (FC) Systems
 Acquisition Mode
 Semiautomatic Tracking Mode
 Manual Tracking Mode
o Airborne Intercept (AI) Radars
 Search Mode
 TA Mode
 TT Mode
 Target Illumination (TI) Mode
 Missile Guidance (MG) Mode

Missile guidance systems

 Air-to-Air Missile (AAM)

 Air-to-Surface Missile (ASM)
 SAM Systems
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  Surface-to-Surface Missiles (SSM) Systems

Battlefield and reconnaissance radar

Military map marking symbol Radar as of NATO standard APP-6a

 Battlefield Surveillance Systems
o Battlefield Surveillance Radars
 Countermortar/Counterbattery Systems
o Shell Tracking Radars
 Air Mapping Systems
o Side Looking Airborne Radar (SLAR)
o Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR)
o Perimeter Surveillance Radar (PSR)
o Red Dawn Radar System

Air Traffic Control and navigation

Air traffic control radar at London Heathrow Airport

 Air Traffic Control Systems
o Air Traffic Control (ATC) Radars
o Secondary Surveillance Radar (SSR) (Airport Surveillance Radar)
o Ground Control Approach (GCA) Radars
o Precision Approach Radar (PAR) Systems
 Distance Measuring Equipment (DME)
 Radio Beacons
 Radar Altimeter (RA) Systems
 Terrain-Following Radar (TFR) Systems

Space and range instrumentation radar systems

 Space (SP) Tracking Systems

 Range Instrumentation (RI) Systems
 Video Relay/Downlink Systems
 Space-Based Radar

Weather-sensing Radar systems

 Weather radar
 Wind profilers

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Storm front reflectivities on a Weather radar screen
Wind profiling radar
(NOAA)

Radars for biological research

 Bird radar
 Insect radar
o Surveillance radar (mostly X and S band, i.e. primary ATC Radars)
o Tracking radar (mostly X band, i.e. Fire Control Systems)

Through The Wall Radar Systems

Radar systems which operate using Ultra Wideband technology can sense a human behind walls.
This is possible since the reflective characteristics of humans are generally greater than those of
the typical materials used in construction. However, since humans reflect far less radar energy
than metal does, these systems require sophisticated technology to isolate human targets and
moreover to process any sort of detailed image.

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