Total atmospheric attenuation at 3.2 gigahertz

Abstract

Total atmospheric attenuation has been measured at 3.2 Ghz, where the attenuation is due primarily to nonresonance absorption of molecular oxygen. The experimental techniques of radio astronomy were used to obtain effective antenna temperatures for discrete sources at various angles of elevation. The result for vertical incidence is 0.042 db. An examination of the possible sources of error indicates that an appreciable systematic error is improbable; the accuracy of the experiment is estimated as +--0.004 db probable error.