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A raygun is a science-fiction directed-energy weapon usually with destructive effect. [1] They have various names: ray gun, death ray, beam gun, blaster, laser gun, laser pistol, phaser, zap gun, etc. In most stories a raygun emits a ray usually lethal if it hits a human target, often destructive if it hits mechanical objects, with properties ...
The list includes technologies that were first posited in non-fiction works before their appearance in science fiction and subsequent invention, such as ion thruster. To avoid repetitions, the list excludes film adaptations of prior literature containing the same predictions, such as " The Minority Report ".
The hypothetical particles tachyons, defined through being faster than light, have inspired many occurrences in fiction. [1] [2] In general, tachyons are a standby mechanism upon which many science fiction authors rely to establish faster-than-light communication, with or without reference to causality issues, [3] [4] as well as a means to achieve faster-than-light travel. [4]
The co-editor of the science fiction journal Extrapolation and a professor of English at the University of Georgia, Isaiah Lavender III, notes the usefulness of the dictionary for academic analysis of issues, saying "Having these origin dates in mind can help a student or scholar build a framework to analyze something like the concept of the ...
A radar beam scattering off electrons in the ionospheric plasma creates an incoherent scatter return. When an electromagnetic wave is transmitted through the atmosphere, each of the electrons in the ionospheric plasma essentially acts as an antenna excited by the incoming wave, and the wave is re-radiated from the electron.
Beamforming or spatial filtering is a signal processing technique used in sensor arrays for directional signal transmission or reception. [1] This is achieved by combining elements in an antenna array in such a way that signals at particular angles experience constructive interference while others experience destructive interference.
Monostatic radar cross section (RCS) of a perfectly conducting metal sphere as a function of frequency (calculated by Mie theory). In the low-frequency Rayleigh scattering limit, where the circumference is less than wavelength, the normalized RCS is σ π R 2 ∼ 9 ( k R ) 4 {\displaystyle {\tfrac {\sigma }{\pi R^{2}}}\sim 9(kR)^{4}} .
A tachyon (/ ˈ t æ k i ɒ n /) or tachyonic particle is a hypothetical particle that always travels faster than light. Physicists believe that faster-than-light particles cannot exist because they are inconsistent with the known laws of physics.