IN ATTEMPTING TO DESCRIBE the present status of instrumentation in “space physics” one is faced with the problem of defining terms. Space physics may be interpreted broadly to include (1) all experimental areas of physics in which the use of balloons, rockets, satellites, or space probes offer some advantage, and (2) ground based measurements of “space” phenomena. In category 1 are included all the in situ measurements of the environment (from the atmosphere to interplanetary space) as well as some areas of astronomy, astrophysics, lunar and planetary physics, geodesy, and meteorology. Examples of measurements in category 2 are solar and magnetic observatory measurements, ionospheric studies using radio propagation characteristics, auroral observations, etc. Clearly, a listing of the disciplines that might be considered part of space physics would be quite long and each of these areas uses a specialized and complex set of instrumentation that is worthy of detailed description.
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July 1966
July 01 1966
Instrumentation for space physics
To get experimental data from space vehicles to the ground, physical quantities (temperature, particle energy, etc.) must be converted to electrical quantities and then broadcast. Equipment for the Purpose varies according to the nature of the experiment and the amount of on‐board data processing desired. Early systems delivered fairly “raw” data to the ground, but as experiments grow more sophisticated, more on‐board sorting and analysis are necessary.
Carl O. Bostrom;
Carl O. Bostrom
Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory
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George H. Ludwig
George H. Ludwig
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Physics Today 19 (7), 43–56 (1966);
Citation
Carl O. Bostrom, George H. Ludwig; Instrumentation for space physics. Physics Today 1 July 1966; 19 (7): 43–56. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3048391
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