Being on a naval ship brings a sense of seclusion both physically and mentally. With communications being of the utmost importance, it stands to reason that com systems are a vital piece of equipment. What would happen if the antennae arrays were broken or for that matter destroyed? How would we cope being cut off from the world with no way of communicating our position or try to get rescued? Why not use a stream of water as an antenna. The US. Navy’s SPAWAR (Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command) has a new piece of technology that can actually receive and transmit signals over 30 miles using a stream of seawater pumped out to 80 feet high. The process by which this works is relatively simple. Seawater, needed for its magnetic induction properties of salt, is used as a VHF antenna and capable of modulating a signal by varying the length and width of the stream being pumped into the air. The signal strength of an 80 foot high stream can transmit or receive in a VHF range of 2 to 400 MHz While the average Navy vessel needs on average 80 antenna’s for their wireless systems, this new technology called Electrolytic Fluid Antenna, will only need about ten effectively reducing the amount of space needed for the wireless systems needed by the average ship. Using the new antenna theoretically can also reduce the ships radar image by eliminating the metallic based antenna structures. The system its self could also be miniaturized for use as an emergency antenna for smaller watercraft and even land-born communications.
Eavesdropper