homeWelcome, sign in or click here to subscribe.login
     


 

 

Weekend


Subscriber content preview

August 1, 2003

Strange But True!

  • A weekly column of incidental information, off-the-wall observations and other random facts about the world.
    • By BILL SONES and RICH SONES, Ph.D.
    Special to the Journal

    Q. What was the most ironic use of the new "radio and detection and ranging," developed in the 1930s by Robert Watson-Watt, who became known as the "father of RADAR"?

    A. The British Air Ministry had asked him about the possibility of concentrating enough energy in a radio beam to knock a plane out of the sky, says James Livingston in "Driving Force: The Natural Magic of Magnets." Watson-Watt reported back that No, a radio death-ray was impossible, but it might be feasible to detect enemy aircraft using reflected radio waves. Thus the concept of radar was born.


     
    . . .


    To read this story in full login or purchase a subscription.



    Previous columns:


    
    Email or user name:
    Password:
     
    Forgot password? Click here.