What's the use of shark dorsal fin on the top of a car?

Something like the dorsal fin of a shark on the top of a car is called a shark fin antenna. Functionally, it is mainly used for receiving and sending signals, mainly receiving signals from GPS (navigation), FM (radio) and GSM (mobile phone), instead of the original rod antenna. In addition, shark fin antenna also has aesthetic function, which makes the vehicle look more dynamic. As for the role of tip discharge and aerodynamics mentioned by others, I beg to differ. I think it's mainly antenna and aesthetic function.

The function of the car antenna is also briefly explained above. The function of car antenna is to receive signals. Are cars made of metal? Cage? For electromagnetic signals, metallic? Cage? It can shield the reception and transmission of signals. Although the car is not closed? Iron cage? But if there is no antenna, the entertainment system, navigation system and even the reception of cell phone signals in the car will be affected. So the function of car antenna is to receive wireless electromagnetic wave signals in the air. These signals mainly include GPS signals (mainly used for navigation and positioning), FM signals (mainly radio signals) and GSM signals (mainly mobile phone or in-vehicle network signals). These signals can be received through the antenna, or amplified and sent out through the antenna, so as to realize the communication of various signals. This is somewhat similar to the function of the antenna on the front mobile phone.

The evolution of automobile antenna With the development of automobile, there are more and more entertainment devices on the automobile, and the antenna of the automobile is constantly changing with the increase of automobile functions. At first, there were only radios for car entertainment. At that time, the antenna was equivalent to the antenna of a radio. However, with the increase of automobile functions, there are more and more functions of antennas, such as GPS signal reception and cell phone signal reception. With the increase of network signal coverage, the signal around the vehicle is getting stronger and stronger, and the dependence of the vehicle on the antenna is getting smaller and smaller, and the shape of the antenna is constantly changing. At first, it was a whip antenna. We often see a long antenna on the roof of some desert off-road vehicles, which swings from side to side like a whip with the start of the vehicle, so it is called a whip antenna. Whip antennas often appear in old cars, and it is better to be telescopic. The whip antenna is very long and inconvenient to install on the roof, so this kind of long whip antenna is basically eliminated now. The advantage of whip antenna is its strong signal receiving ability, so some off-road vehicles like to install whip antenna, because off-road vehicles generally have more activities in some inaccessible places with poor signal, but the disadvantage is that they are too ugly.

We know that if there is a long antenna on the roof of a car, it will be particularly inconvenient to drive in the city, so the size of the antenna will be further reduced, from whip antenna to rod antenna. Compared with whip antenna, the signal received by rod antenna is slightly weaker, but its size is greatly reduced. For city vehicles, a rod antenna is enough.

Beautiful shark fin antenna With people's further requirements for the appearance of the car, the rod antenna is like a small tail, which will destroy the integrity of the whole car, and the black plastic texture of the rod antenna does not look very high-grade. Therefore, people thought of using shark fin antenna instead of rod antenna. Although the signal receiving ability is worse, the appearance of the vehicle is more beautiful. The cost of shark fin antenna will be higher than that of rod antenna, but the signal receiving ability of shark fin antenna is completely sufficient for urban vehicles.

Hidden glass antenna, of course, people's pursuit of beauty will never stop. Not all cars are suitable for shark fin antennas. Some solemn cars will look a bit nondescript if they are equipped with dynamic shark fin antennas, so some cars use metal wires instead of antennas on the rear windshield. Of course, these wires also bear the function of heating the glass.

Common car antennas The above describes the evolution process of car antennas, and the whole process actually changes with people's needs. At first, people pursued function, and gradually people began to pursue beauty. The development of antenna has also changed in people's pursuit. Although there are many shark fin antennas, each family's shark fin is different. Let's take a look at these interesting shark fins. The shark's fin of Volkswagen Magotan

Shark fin of BMW 3 series

The shark fin of Lincoln MKZ

Mercedes-Benz S-class shark fin

Cadillac CT5 shark fin