Radio telescopes, like their optical counterparts, gather electromagnetic energy at a spatial focus in order to measure intensity, frequency, spatial distribution, polarization, and variability of single or multiple radiating sources. As was established early in the post-World War II era, in order to make radio astronomy measurements with spatial resolution comparable to that at optical wavelengths, the radio receiver must be larger by the ratio of radio to optical wavelengths. This results... więcej

Salem Press Encyclopedia, 2023. 3p.