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[TowerTalk] Plasma antenna

To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
Subject: [TowerTalk] Plasma antenna
From: mai@iquest.net (Patrick Croft)
Date: Tue, 29 Apr 1997 14:55:38 -0400 (EDT)
If you wish to review a patent, point your web browser to:

                http://patent.womplex.ibm.com/

This is a free search engine service provided by IBM.  Handy to say the least.

Bests,

Patrick
WB9IQI

At 11:27 AM 4/29/97 -0700, you wrote:
>I recall hearing stories that some guys attempted to "load" the very hot
>gases that came off the trubines on some destroyer (DD963 ????).  This
>attempt was made during the development of the ship in about 1971 or 1972. 
>It did not work.  It would be interesting to read the patent.
>
>----------
>> From: Doug Brandon <dab@kaiwan.com>
>> To: towertalk@contesting.com
>> Subject: [TowerTalk] Plasma antenna
To: <towertalk@contesting.com>
>> Date: Monday, April 28, 1997 2:22 PM
>> 
>> 
>> I ran across this interesting article on a new antenna technology
>> and thought some might find it interesting.  It sounds like it's only
>> good for digital transmissions, but it's definitely an interesting 
>> concept.
>> 
>>    73 de Doug, N6RT
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Patriot announces contract with Navy for plasma antenna revolutionary 
>> patented antenna design
>> 
>> SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 28, 1997-- Patriot Scientific Corp 
>> Monday announced the receipt of a contract from the Office of Naval 
>> Research for the development of its revolutionary plasma antenna. 
>> 
>> In coordination with the Navy Command Control Ocean Surveillance Center 
>> in Washington, D.C., Patriot will construct and test prototypes and 
>> characterize their use both as receiving and transmitting antennas. 
>> An earlier prototype has shown numerous unique characteristics. 
>> 
>> Patriot's technology represents a fundamental paradigm shift in antenna 
>> design. Traditional antenna design employs solid wire as the active 
>> element. All solid wire antennas resonate -- that is, as part of the 
>> process of emitting a radio wave during operation an unwanted ringing 
>> occurs which can interfere with signal processing. This ringing causes 
>> clutter and often requires sophisticated signal processing to reduce 
>> its effect. 
>> 
>> Inventor Elwood Norris commented: "We employ an ionized gas, or plasma, 
>> as the efficient conducting element of our antenna. This gas may be 
>> ionized for nanoseconds, which is only the precise time needed for 
>> transmission or reception, thus eliminating ringing and its associated 
>> effects. This ability to emit extremely short pulses is often a critical 
>> factor in many forms of digital communication." 
>> 
>> The company believes the use of an ionized gas antenna element allows: 
>> 
>> -- An antenna that can be dynamically reconfigured for 
>>    frequency, direction, bandwidth, gain and beamwidth. 
>> 
>> -- When de-ionized, the antenna's radar cross-section, thus its 
>>    detectability, is minimal thereby exhibiting stealth qualities. 
>> 
>> -- An antenna that is small and lightweight as well as 
>>    electronically steerable. 
>> 
>> In 1996, a patent with 48 claims was issued to Patriot and for a period 
>> of time the patent was classified "Secret." That status has now been 
>> removed. The technology was initially developed for the company's ground 
>> penetrating radar but has much broader applications. 
>> 
>> Antenna Project Manager Del Kintner commented: "This is the first
>contract 
>> of several we hope to secure as we move towards commercialization of this
>
>> new technology. For military applications, size, weight, configurability 
>> and detectability are often critical factors. For commercial
>applications, 
>> size, weight, power and short pulse generation are key factors. 
>> 
>> 
>> /*-------------------------------------------------------------------*/
>>   Doug Brandon        http://www.kaiwan.com/~dab       dab@kaiwan.com
>> 
>> --
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>


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