Obviously radar is an extremely useful technology, and in this edition of How Stuff Works we will look at radar's secrets. In some cases radar can identify an object as well, for example identifying the type of an aircraft. They are trying to detect the speed of something - this is the reason why police use radar. They are trying to map something - the space shuttle and orbiting satellites use something called Synthetic Aperture Radar to create detailed topographic maps of the surface of planets and moons. These two concepts are easy to understand in the realm of sound because your ears hear echo and doppler shift every day.
Radar makes use the same techniques using radio waves .
Let's look at the sound version first, since you are already initimately familiar with sound. Inc. All rights reserved.