Re:US Air Force Shoots Down Drone Swarm with THOR Microwave ...
by doctoboggan on Friday May 19, 2023 @03:45PM
(#36006037)
Why wouldn't they? They are just EM waves. "Light" is used colloquially for the visible spectrum but microwaves could be considered light waves
Re:US Air Force Shoots Down Drone Swarm with THOR Microwave ...
by ared38 on Friday May 19, 2023 @04:15PM
(#36006350)
You are actually correct. The speed of light you always hear about is the speed of EM radiation in a perfect vacuum. In a medium such as the atmosphere, the pulse doesn't travel as fast. The slowdown depends on the refractive index, which itself depends on the frequency of the wave -- longer wavelengths have lower indices. This means that microwaves will move the tiniest bit faster than light through the atmosphere.
Re:US Air Force Shoots Down Drone Swarm with THOR Microwave ...
by tasseff on Friday May 19, 2023 @03:55PM
(#36006129)
You might have been colloquially correct. Microwaves travel at the speed of light, but my microwave that heats up a Hot Pocket can't. :-)
Re:US Air Force Shoots Down Drone Swarm with THOR Microwave ...
by jakeinspace on Friday May 19, 2023 @04:06PM
(#36006260)
They’ll work in a pinch against a drone idling below your kitchen window.
Re:US Air Force Shoots Down Drone Swarm with THOR Microwave ...
by phendrenad2 on Friday May 19, 2023 @03:46PM
(#36006044)
> Microwaves dont travel at the speed of light
Yes, they do, microwaves are just a wavelength of light.
Microwaves dont travel at the speed of light. Did they mean line of sight?
Edit - well guess I was wrong!