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An unmanned jet plane flies high over the Afghan landscape, using a
technology called synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, to search for
signs of Al Qaeda. With its ability to "see" in complete darkness
and through rain and clouds in the sky and snow and foliage on the
ground, SAR (pronounced "sar" rather than "S-A-R") is becoming a
regular component of unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs.
Other useful applications for SAR include mapping planets (such as
the perpetually cloud-covered Venus), mapping terrain here on Earth,
and even looking for signs of earthquakes. For some, what's most
fascinating about SAR is not what it can "image" or even that it can
produce remarkably high-quality pictures, but that an image can be
created at all using radar waves and a moving antenna.
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Flash is a plug-in that allows for increased
interactivity. If you can see the animated boxes at
left, the plugin is already installed. If you do not see
the boxes, you can
install the Flash plugin.
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