International Union of Radio Science

The International Union of Radio Science URSI ( Union Radio - Scientifique French International, URSI ) is an international association of scientists exploring all aspects of wireless technology, including their applications and the propagation of radio waves.

History

The URSI was founded in 1919 at the inaugural meeting of the International Research Council as one of the earliest international scientific unions, even going back to a company as early as 1913 Commission Internationale de telegraphy sans Fil Today it is one of 26 scientific unions in the International Council for Science ICSU. The study area comprises electromagnetic waves in the frequency range from extremely long natural waves ( Whistler ) to beyond the optical range.

The interest of URSI was originally only the different mechanisms of propagation of radio waves for telecommunication and for important areas of the atmosphere, namely the troposphere and ionosphere. Later, other topics of radio astronomy were added to applications of radar, more recently, technical foundations and biological effects of radio waves. These topics are dealt with in ten commissions and treated every three years at the URSI General Assembly. URSI is editor of the quarterly magazine " Radio Science Bulletin ".

During the preparation and implementation of the International Geophysical Year in 1957/58 URSI played a leading role.