Understanding the Physics behind RF Equipment - From kilo Hertz to giga Hertz

Airports employ a range of RF equipment such as ILS (instrument landing systems) or MLS (microwave landing systems).  The purpose of an ILS is to enable pilots to land without visual contact of the runway. It does this by transmitting radio signals.

The development of RF equipment came out of the study of "radio science".

RF refers to e-m wave frequencies between 3 kHz to 300 GHz (giga - ten to the power nine, or a factor of a billion). 300 GHz is a really really high frequency if you think about it.

Waves in the range of 30 GHz to 300 GHz are termed extremely high frequency (EHF) waves and were first investigated in the 1890s by Jagadish Chandra Bose.

What could such EHF waves possibly be used for?  In many former USSR nations, they are used in medical treatments (known as millimeter wave (MMW) therapy).

Hertz is the SI unit denoting one cycle per second. It is named after Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, the Hamburg-born German physicist who proved electromagnetic waves exist, a notion first theorised by the Scot, James Clerk Maxwell. At one time, electromagnetic waves were termed "Hertzian waves" by scientists.

Kovalam and Vizhinjam

Kovalam is a beach town in Kerala. It is 16km south of the city centre. Kovalam means "grove of coconut trees". It came to the fore when then Maharani of Travancore constructed a beach resort there towards the end of the 1920s. It is 3km away from the sea port of Vizhinjam. It is the site of a wave energy plant that generates power based on the OWC (oscillating water column) principle.

Statue Junction, Thiruvananthapuram

Statue Junction is a central place in Thiruvananthapuram. Government officials in Kerala are mostly located in the Secretariat close by (the foundation stone of which was laid in 1865). The statue is of Velayudham Thampi, a Dalawa, or Prime Minister, of Travancore. It is on MG Road.  Kerala is a state along the Malabar coast, the South Western shore of India. It is bordered by the Lakshadweep Sea to the West and Tamil Nadu to the East.

The Hoo Peninsula

The Hoo Peninsula is a peninsula separating the Thames and Medway estuaries in Kent, England.

What's a Supercapacitor?

A supercapacitor is a "high capacity" capacitor (typically storing between 10 to 100 times more energy per unit volume than electrolytic capacitors). They are a key component in electric cars.