Isotropic Radiator
(redirected from Isotropic antennas)isotropic radiator
[¦ī·sə¦trä·pik ′rād·ē‚ād·ər] (physics)
An energy source that radiates uniformly in all directions.
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific & Technical Terms, 6E, Copyright © 2003 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Isotropic Radiator
an imaginary antenna emitting electromagnetic energy of equal intensity in all directions. It has a circular directivity pattern in any plane. The isotropic radiator is used in antenna technology as a standard for the comparative evaluation of the directional characteristics of various antennas, particularly in determining the front-to-rear factor. A great deal of attention is being devoted to the design of antennas whose directional properties are close to those of an isotropic radiator. In particular, such antennas are required for use on artificial earth satellites that are unstabilized in space. Antennas of that type make possible the maintenance of communications with the satellite when it changes its position in space.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
isotropic
The properties of a material that are the same in all directions. For example, an isotropic antenna radiates the same power in all directions. In practice, antennas cannot be 100% isotropic. However, a perfect isotropic antenna, called an "isotropic radiator," can be calculated, and it is used as a basis for measuring the signal strength of real antennas. Contrast with anisotropic. See dBi.Copyright © 1981-2019 by The Computer Language Company Inc. All Rights reserved. THIS DEFINITION IS FOR PERSONAL USE ONLY. All other reproduction is strictly prohibited without permission from the publisher.