ConceptsDispersion measure
Concept · radio astronomy · in 1 mystery
Dispersion measure
The delay of a radio burst's low frequencies, which tells how much plasma it crossed.
Fast radio bursts and the origin of the one-off burstsFree electrons slow low radio frequencies more than high ones, so a burst arrives smeared across frequency by an amount proportional to the electrons along its path. For fast radio bursts the dispersion measure is far larger than the Milky Way can supply, which is how they were first known to come from other galaxies.
Where it comes up
Cite it
Mysteries Department. (2026). Dispersion measure [Concept CPT0DECW040R5CS]. https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECW040R5CS
@misc{mysteriesdept_cpt0decw040r5cs,
title = {Dispersion measure},
author = {{Mysteries Department}},
year = {2026},
note = {Concept, catalog key CPT0DECW040R5CS},
url = {https://mysteriesdept.com/r/CPT0DECW040R5CS}
}