Ethan S. 2026 | BASIS Independent McLean
- Project Title: Engineering Portable Helical Antennae
- BASIS Independent Advisor: Farhan Ahmad
Unlike simple dipole antennae, like those on old TVs, which produce linearly polarized light, helical antennae produce circularly polarized light. This type of light is characterized by its capacity to resist degradation over long distances, which makes helical antennae very useful implements in space and deep-sea exploration. A common problem with these antennae, though, is that they can be far too large and bulky to fit onto satellites for quality space scans. This project aims to provide possible remedies to that by constructing an expandable helical antenna.
My Posts
Week 4: Building the Simple Dipole Antenna
April 6, 2026
Hello! This week’s blog will be about how to actually build a dipole antenna. Well, there are actually two types of general antennae: a transmitting antenna and a receiving antenna. If you are making a transmitting antenna, you must build something capable of transducing an oscillating electrical signal (alternating current or AC) into an electromagnetic […]
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Week 2: An Internship!
March 16, 2026
Exclaimer: This blog will be unrelated to my engineering project, so if you readers are only interested in that, I would recommend to go to the next post. Hi! Before we officially begin with the extendable helical antenna project, I would like to talk about my internship! This spring, I’m working with the OI Foundation, […]
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Week 1: Extendable Helical Antennae: Set-up
March 9, 2026
Hello! If you are reading this, then my senior project idea has interested you! Therefore, to make it easier for you readers to keep track of what’s happening, I present the following, rough timeline: Constructing a simple dipole antenna and analyzing it’s output Constructing a helical antenna and analyzing it’s output Constructing an extendable helical […]
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Extendable Helical Antennae: Introduction
February 27, 2026
A human’s most powerful tool is the means by which he or she can communicate with another human. As humans evolved, so did their methods of communication, and nowadays, electromagnetic (EM) waves are widely used for wireless communication for all sorts of devices including satellite communication and weather radar. The tools used to create these […]
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