Did You Know...
...that in 1800 ether was first used by partyers as a fun diversion? Sniffing the gas led to hilarious and raucous laughter as people watched each other become more and more intoxicated and silly. Several doctors independently realized the value ether would have to anesthetize surgery patients. Of those who claimed rights to the "discovery," none had a happy ending. One had a seizure and died defending his rights. Another spent his life in an asylum because he had been denied acclaim. A third became addicted to chloroform and, in a New York City jail, he soaked a cloth in the drug, severed an artery and bled to death.
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US Patent 4521861 - Method and apparatus for enhancing radiometric imaging
Estimated Patent Expiration Date:
June 4, 2002Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.AbstractDisclosed is a method and apparatus for enhancing target detection, particularly in the millimeter wave frequency range, through the utilization of an imaging radiometer. The radiometer, which is a passive thermal receiver, detects the reflected and emitted thermal radiation of targets within a predetermined antenna/receiver beamwidth. By scanning the radiometer over a target area, a thermal image is created. At millimeter wave frequencies, the received emissions from the target area are highly dependent on the emissivity of the target of interest. Foliage will appear "hot" due to its high emissivity and metals will appear cold due to their low emissivities. A noise power illuminator is periodically actuated to illuminate the target of interest. When the illuminator is actuated, the role of emissivity is reversed, namely poorly emissive targets will generally be good reflectors which in the presence of an illuminator will appear "hot". The highly emissive targets (such as foliage and dirt) which absorb most of the transmitted energy will appear almost the same as in a non-illuminated, passive image. Using a data processor, the intensity of the passive image is subtracted from the intensity of the illuminated, active image which thereby cancels the background foliage, dirt, etc. and the reflective metallic targets are enhanced.Other References
| InventorsAssigneeApplicationNo. 06/373583 filed on 04/30/1982US Classes:702/57, Electrical signal parameter measurement system342/351, Including a radiometer382/106, Range or distance measuring702/107Circuit tuning (e.g., potentiometer, amplifier)ExaminersPrimary: Zache, Raulfe B.Assistant: Shaw, Dale M. Attorney, Agent or FirmUS Patent References3599211, 3787857, 3827027, 3921169, 4115776, Adaptive gain control for radiometric target tracking systemIssued on: 09/19/1978 Inventor: Roeder , et al.4158854, Apparatus for scanning and processing information obtained by successively irradiating an object from a plurality of directions Issued on: 06/19/1979 Inventor: Duinker4292638, Augmented radiometric system Issued on: 09/29/1981 Inventor: Lazarchik , et al.4325257, Real-time digital, synthetic-focus, acoustic imaging system Issued on: 04/20/1982 Inventor: Kino , et al.4335427, Method of selecting a preferred difference image Issued on: 06/15/1982 Inventor: Hunt , et al.4347515Radar radiometer and its use Issued on: 08/31/1982 Inventor: Hoover, Jr. International ClassesG01V 8/00 (20060101)G01S 13/00 (20060101) G01S 13/86 (20060101) |
