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The observables (measurables) from 'remote' vantage points in
this process of radiant energy receipt and dissipation are:
1) “ The quantities of incoming, transmitted, reflected, and
emitted energies;
2) the wavelength(s) (frequencies) of incoming, transmitted,
reflected and emitted energies;
3) the x-y distributions of incoming, transmitted, reflected,
and emitted energy (polarization);
4) the z distributions of incoming, transmitted, reflected, and
emitted energy ( phase);
5) the delay times between receipt and reflectance and receipt
and emittance;
6) the duration of emittance following termination of incoming
energy;
7) the 2d and/or 3d dimensional distributions of the above energy/
space/time quantities; and
8) changes in all of the above with time.
The total number of observables is vast; there are, for example,
approximately 1028 um in the electromagnetic spectrum. If one assumes
that an observation can be made at each micrometre and recognizes that
various combinations of these observations can be made that will
increase the number factorially to a wholly unrealistic level, it
becomes clear that some logic must be applied to the selection of the
quantities to be observed. The logic currently applied, expressed in the
form of hypotheses follows:
1) The farther apart in the electromagnetic spectrum the observa-
tions are made the less the redundancy of the data;
2) observations made at different times of the year would show
different features in addition to changing conditions of the same features,
and aid in the interpretation of cause and effect relationships and in the
identification of specific objects;
3) observations made at differing scales (area of coverage) would
provide different sets of information; and
4) observations made in the various "domains" of remote sensing
including luminescence, reflectance, emission, radioactivity, time func-
tions, and the force fields (magnetics and gravity) are mutually
supporting in developing information.
