ELI5: Explain Like I'm 5

Bistatic sonar

Have you ever played a game where you shout into a tunnel and hear your echo coming back to you? That's kind of like what bistatic sonar is! Sonar is a special tool that scientists use to explore the ocean and learn more about what's going on down there.

Bistatic sonar is a special type of sonar that uses two different parts to work together. One part is called the "transmitter" and the other is called the "receiver". The transmitter sends out a sound wave into the ocean, and the receiver picks up the echo of that sound wave bouncing off of something in the water, like a ship or a whale.

The cool thing about bistatic sonar is that the transmitter and the receiver can be in different places! It's like if your friend was talking to you through the tunnel from far away. So, scientists can put the transmitter on one ship and the receiver on a different ship, and they can work together to explore the ocean.

By using two different parts to work together, scientists can learn more about what's happening in the ocean. They can find out where different things are, like where fish are swimming or where rocks are on the ocean floor. They can also learn more about how sound waves travel through the water, which can help them make better tools to explore even more.

So, bistatic sonar is like having two friends talking to each other through a tunnel to learn more about what's happening in the ocean!
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