Contact-free measuring
At which height does cloud cover obscure a pilot's sight? Where exactly does a dangerous avalanche lurk? How good is the sprinter, and which car is exceeding the speed limit?
Where conventional measurement methods fail, laser radar systems are tops. Near or far they measure distances and speed without contact. More precisely: they calculate how long artificially created light needs to get from its source to a target and back.
What is the difference between the speed of light and the speed of sound? How can distance be measured using laser radar, and how can it be used to determine speed from separate distance measurements? Tantalising questions to which you can find surprising answers with the help of laser pointers, ultrasonic instruments, laser radar and oscilloscopes!
An ingenious measurement technique takes the lead
Excellent methodologies are required. Laser measurement is one of them. It not only quantifies the speed and distance of clearly visible objects, but also furnishes valuable indicators for determining, for example, wind speed, or the concentration of important trace gases such as water vapor or ozone as well as diverse suspended matter in the atmosphere. Which of different laser radar methods are utilized depends on how they take advantage of the various interactions between light and atoms, molecules, or particles in the atmosphere.
Looking through spectacles for details of a fascinating technology
Just put on a pair of laser glasses - and see the absorption and polarization of laser radiation! With an infrared viewer you can make laser radiation visible at 905 nanometer. Determine a given distance using the electric vibrations recorded by an oscilloscope. Measure the speed of your own movement and that of vehicles on the street. We have already on hand everything you need to do all this, and can also show you many impressive examples of applied laser radar technology!
Further information: LIDAR (= light detection and ranging)