METEOR ECHO DURATION AND RADIO WAVE LENGTH

Abstract

The durations of radar echoes from meteors have been observed simultaneously on 9.22 m. and 5.35 m., and also on 9.22 m. and 2.83 m. The ratio of durations on two wave lengths decreases with increasing duration by a factor of two over the observed range, deviating significantly from the accepted square law of wave length. Plotting the log of the ratio against the log of the duration yields two straight lines of different slopes, one in the short-duration range and the other applying to the longer echoes. General empirical formulae are developed to predict the echo duration on one radio equipment in terms of the duration of the same echo recorded by another apparatus of different sensitivity and wave length.