What is meteor burst communication?
Q: What is meteor burst communication?
A: Meteor burst communication is a type of radio communication which uses radio waves that bounce off the ionized trails made by meteors as they enter the earth’s atmosphere. It is also called Meteor scatter communication.
Q: What are meteors?
A: Meteors are lumps of rock which are floating about in space. They normally burn up in the atmosphere, but larger ones that hit the earth are called 'meteorites'. Most meteors are only tiny specks of dust.
Q: How does meteor burst communication work?
A: As meteors enter the atmosphere, heat made by air friction rips off electrons and produces an ionized trail. This trail can reflect radio waves in the same way that a wire would, allowing messages to be sent between two radio communication stations at very fast speeds (about 200 times as fast as with ordinary shortwave radio). The two stations have to be ready all the time as they never know when the next burst of communication will come.
Q: What size do meteors need to be for meteor burst communications?
A: Meteors used for meteor burst communications need to be between one thousandth and one hundredth of a gram - smaller than this are too weak to be used, and larger ones aren't frequent enough.
Q: How long does an ionized trail last for?
A: An ionized trail can last for several seconds during which messages can be sent between two radio communication stations.
Q: When was meteor burst communication first widely used?
A: Meteor burst communication was first widely used in the 1950s, particularly useful for military communications due to its ability not travel in a straight line (i.e., great circle round the earth’s curve).
Q: Why has meteor burst communications become rarer today?
A: The use of communications satellites in late 20th century has made meteor burst communications rarer today since it is no longer needed as much due to other forms of technology being available now.
