Fast Ionospheric Ray Tracing.
Abstract
A hybrid computer was used to solve the equations governing the path of a radio wave thru the ionosphere. The simulation involves the solution of the ray tracing equations with the presence of a dipole magnetic field which requires generation of four functions of three variables, these functions being the electron density and its partial derivatives with respect to each of three independent variables. The ray tracing equations are solved on the analog, the magnetic field in the digital although it could also be on the analog if equipment permitted and the function generation by a hybrid technique. Using this simulation a 6,000 km ray path is traced in approximately 0.6 seconds and, in addition, the user is afforded a high degree of interaction with the simulation. The advantage of this approach over previous ones lies in the method of function generation, permitting the speed of simulation to be several times faster than simulations on all digital machines costing 10 times as much as well as ease of user interaction. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 21, 1973
- Accession Number
- AD0786465
Entities
People
- Maurice F. Snyder