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SWOT's main radar instrument operates at the so-called Ka-band frequency of the microwave spectrum, allowing its scans to penetrate cloud cover and darkness over wide swaths of Earth's surface.

SWOT's radar instrument operates at the so-called Ka-band frequency of the microwave spectrum, allowing scans to penetrate cloud cover and darkness over wide swaths of the Earth.

To probe the matter, Weiss and his graduate student Muehlner built a device that would fly on a weather balloon and measure the microwave spectrum to shorter wavelengths.

Streaming high-definition movies and online gaming are straining the capacity of many Wi-Fi networks, and precious little space is left for additional transmission channels in the radio and microwave spectrum.

At NPL they are experimenting with the elements strontium and ytterbium that operate at far, far higher frequencies - right up in the optical rather than the microwave spectrum.