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2011

Bridgewater State University

Hands-on activities

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Full-Text Articles in Education

Demonstrating The Principles Of Aperture Synthesis With The Very Small Radio Telescope, Jonathan M. Marr, Karel Durkota, Francis P. Wilkin, Adam Pere, Alan E.E. Rogers, Vincent L. Fish, Gabriel Holodak, Martina B. Arndt Jan 2011

Demonstrating The Principles Of Aperture Synthesis With The Very Small Radio Telescope, Jonathan M. Marr, Karel Durkota, Francis P. Wilkin, Adam Pere, Alan E.E. Rogers, Vincent L. Fish, Gabriel Holodak, Martina B. Arndt

Physics Faculty Publications

We have developed a set of college-level, table-top labs for teaching the basics of radio interferometry and aperture synthesis. These labs are performed with the Very Small Radio Telescope (VSRT), an interferometer using satellite TV electronics as detectors and compact fluorescent light bulbs as microwave signal sources. The hands-on experience provided by the VSRT in these labs allows students to gain a conceptual understanding of radio interferometry and aperture synthesis without the rigorous mathematical background traditionally required.