Is a Radio Wave Raser Feasible and How Would It Function?

[ChrisAndre]

"Raser": Is it Possible?

Is it possible to make a "raser" (Radio Amplification by Stimulated Emission), or what we know now as a laser, but in the form of radio waves? How would this be achieved?

 

[NobodySpecial]

Depends what wavelength you are calling radio - the first 'lasers' were microwave

 

[ChrisAndre]

Microwaves? Cool! Say 32KHz frequency. Is there a way to generate coherent waves at this frequency? How accurate would this be?

 

[cjameshuff]

Indeed...masers are microwave-frequency lasers.

At lower frequencies, a conventional laser probably isn't workable...not enough energy per photon to stimulate emission in the usual manner. Coherent radiation at these frequencies is easy to produce more directly, though...you could draw some analogies between a laser/maser tube and an oscillator circuit, though the mechanism is quite different.

 

[cjameshuff]

Microwaves? Cool! Say 32KHz frequency. Is there a way to generate coherent waves at this frequency? How accurate would this be?

32 kHz is far, far below microwave frequencies...it's at the bottom of the low frequency band. The main difficulty with generating coherent radiation at this frequency is its long wavelength...you need a large antenna to efficiently emit it.

How accurate would it be in what respect? There's plenty of 32.768 kHz crystals out there that would allow for an extremely stable frequency reference. With a wavelength of 9 km, you're not going to hit a small target with it.