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How does rain affect television reception from a satellite?

Rain can significantly interfere with the transmission of television signals from a satellite to a receiver. Satellites send television signals as microwaves, which are a long-wavelength form of electromagnetic radiation. (Wavelength is the distance between the crest of one light wave and the crest of the next.) Incoming microwave signals are absorbed by rain and moisture. Severe rainstorms can reduce signals to one-tenth of their original strength and may cause a television picture to be momentarily lost.

Another problem associated with rainfall, even moderate rainfall, is an increase in noise, or static interference, due to the rain's "inherent noise temperature." All matter has an inherent noise temperature, which takes the form of wave packets. The wave packets are released by molecular motion within matter. These wave packets have a...

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