Aero-Terms!

Aero-Terms are designed to be a daily reminder of the terms, names, acronyms and explanations of the unique language that populates the aviation world. Aerospace, sport aviation, fixed wing, helo, you name it... it's all fair game.

Aero-Terms should serve as a quick but intriguing reminder of the terms you may use every day, or an introduction to an aspects of the Aero-World you may not yet be familiar with. ANN also encourages readers to go beyond the FMI link, and further research any intriguing terms.

Suggestions for future Aero-Terms are ALWAYS welcome, as are additions or discussion of the explanations given for each Aero-Term.

Omnidirectional Antenna

A radio antenna capable of transmitting and/or receiving radio signals from all directions of the sky which are visible from its location, simultaneously. Omnidirectional receiving antennas will be used in the next generation of instruments used for SETI and the study of short-duration or fast-changing natural sources. These revolutionary new instruments will include the Argus radio telescope, the One Hectare Array, and the Square Kilometer Array. Omnidirectional transmitting antennas, if intended for communications with other technological civilizations in space, would require immense power in order to produce detectable signals at interstellar distances.

FMI: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnidirectional_antenna