Science: Faint Reflections

High-frequency TV waves have long been considered undependable at more than line-of-sight distances, i.e., from transmitter to horizon. They punch through the ionosphere (ionized layers in the atmosphere which reflect lower-frequency radio waves), and so are lost in space instead of curving conveniently around the bulge of the earth. Once in a while a TV picture is received strongly at a great distance, but such events are freaks which cannot be counted upon.

Last week the National Bureau of Standards was proclaiming that high-frequency waves do reflect from the ionosphere and can get around the earth's curve. The bureau got the Collins...

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