azimuth
- In astronomy, azimuth is an angular quantity. Transferred to technology, the term azimuth angle is used in antenna technology. It is the directional angle in relation to the main radiation direction of an antenna. The horizontal radiation characteristic can be determined from this azimuth angle. The azimuth angle can be between 0° and 360°.
- Insolar technology, the azimuth angle plays a decisive role for the solar radiation and thus for the efficiency of the solar cell. The azimuth angle is the angle that indicates the deviation from the exact south direction. The greater this deviation, the greater the angle of incidence and the lower the solar radiation received. In addition to the azimuth angle, the tilt angle also plays an important role in solar modules and also affects the efficiency of the solar cell. This angle is the deviation from the horizontal.
- In automotive technology, the term azimuth stands for the horizontal beam angle ofradar systems. For short-range rad ar( SRR), the beam angle is about +/-60°, for mid-range radar it is +/-45°, and for long-range radar( LRR) it is about +/-10°.
- However, the term azimuth also occurs in audio technology, namely in magnetic tape technology in connection with the position of the read/write head in tape drives. It is the angle of the magnetic head gap in relation to the magnetic tape of an analog cassette recorder or tape drive. For optimum height reproduction, the magnetic head must be aligned perpendicular to the magnetic tape. If the magnetic head is aligned differently, azimuth errors will result, which will be noticeable in a reduction in playback quality. To avoid these errors, various tape drives have devices for adjusting the azimuth. In the case of the Digital Compact Cassette( DCC), these are the Azimuth Locking Pins (ALP) and the Fixed Azimuth Tape Guidance (FATG), both mechanical devices for magnetic head adjustment and guidance, which ensure that azimuth errors are minimized.