________________________________________________________________________Glossary
radio horizon
The boundary beyond the natural horizon in which
radio waves cannot be propagated over the earth's
surface.
radio wave
(1) A form of radiant energy that can neither be seen
nor felt. (2) An electromagnetic wave generated by a
rarefied wave
A longitudinal wave that has been expanded or rarefied
(made less dense) as it moves away from the source.
receiver
The object that responds to a wave or disturbance.
Same as detector.
receiving antenna
The device used to pick up an RF signal from space.
receiving end
See OUTPUT END.
reciprocity
The property of interchangeability of the same antenna
for transmitting and receiving.
rectangular-
A graph in which straight-line axes (horizontal and
coordinate graph
vertical) are perpendicular.
reference line
The position a particle of matter would occupy if it were
not disturbed by wave motion.
reflected wave
(1) The wave that reflects back from a medium. (2)
Waves traveling from the load back to the generator on
a transmission line. (3) The wave moving back to the
sending end of a transmission line after reflection has
occurred.
reflection waves
Waves that are neither transmitted nor absorbed, but
are reflected from the surface of the medium they
encounter.
reflector
The parasitic element of an array that causes maximum
energy radiation in a direction toward the driven
element.
The changing of direction as a wave leaves one medium
and enters another medium of a different density.
reradiation
The reception and retransmission of radio waves caused
by turbulence in the troposphere.
The condition produced when the frequency of
vibrations are the same as the natural frequency (of a
cavity). The vibrations reinforce each other.
Glossary-11
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