How Speed Radars Work

Speed radars can be the bane of your existence. Driving along peacefully, only to have your cruising be interrupted by the flashing of a speed radar or, if you're unlucky, the wail of a siren. How exactly do these curses upon humanity work, then? Magic, obviously.


http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/46/Police-LIDAR-Gun-0946.jpg
Sorcery.
By magic, I of course mean physics. More specifically, the physics of waves. There are two different types of radar: one that uses radio waves, and one that uses lasers. To begin this discussion, I'd like to first guide you into the wonderful world of wave physics.
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Wave Physics

Radar, Part 1

Radar, Part 2

Lidar

Bibliography

Tl;dr