The Ionosphere is the conducting region of the upper atmosphere produced by absorbtion of solar ultraviolet light. It interacts strongly with radio waves and reflects, refracts and absorbs them depending on the frequency. When irradiated with sufficiently powerful radio waves of appropriate frequency it will absorb sufficient power to become heated, form localised plasma density enhancements, emit energetic electrons, and emit light. The approach being explored under this award involves irradiation by two radio beams with closely spaced frequencies, which are expected to produce ionospheric oscillations at the beat frequency, and thus act as a radio transmitter for very low frequencies without the need for a huge antenna on the surface. This work provides insights into the fundamental physics of ionized media, and may have practical applications for communication.
