What is a Radar?
Radar is an electromagnetic sensor that detects, locates, and tracks objects at long ranges. It works by transmitting electromagnetic energy and observing reflected signals called echos. These signals indicate the presence, velocity, and size (also known as radar cross section) of objects at a distance.
Radar can also determine the direction of an object’s movement at the radar site, called radial velocity, by measuring the shift in phase between the transmitted pulse and the received echo. This principle is similar to the Doppler effect observed with sound waves.
A radar system consists of a transmitter producing electromagnetic waves, a receiver for receiving these waves, and an antenna. The antenna can either have one set of antennas for both transmission and reception or two separate sets of antennas, with the transmitter and receiver operating on a time-shared basis. Radar antennas focus radio waves like a magnifying glass, with an increase in antenna gain leading to a narrower radar beam.