What did radio astronomy offer to the society?

Answer:

Like for every science, also radio astronomical results and techniques serve the progress of other sciences in particular and mankind in general. We may mention:

• the development of very-low-noise-receivers (with wide applications), in a large frequency range, with system temperatures as low as 10 Kelvin.
• the study of the thermography of the body by use of millimetre radio techniques (~45 GHz).
• The detection of cancer at centimeter wavelengths (~10 GHz) with modern radiometers and, shortly, using a method of mini-aperture synthesis techniques (interferometric triangulation).
• Computerised X-ray tomography techniques employ methods originally developed for mapping radio sources.
• The detection of forest fires by their microwave radiation.
• The development of radio sextants for aeronautical and marine navigation, allowing accurate determinations of positions at sea even on overcast and rainy days.
• The forecasting of earthquakes by Very-Long-Baseline-Interferometric (VLBI) measurements of fault motion by a determination of the apparent positions of small radio sources.
• The determination of many geophysical parameters such as continental drift, polar wandering, latitude measurements, and variation in the earth's rotation, with the use of connected elements and VLBI techniques.
• The experimental verification of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity using radio interferometry.
• Testing theories of the origin of the Universe by observing the 3 K background radiation apparently coming from the primeval fireball, the Big Bang.
• Measuring the temperature of the earth's atmosphere and the distribution of water vapour and impurities such as carbon monoxide by passive, remote-sensing techniques.
• Monitoring of weather by using radiometers.
• Use radio astronomy observations at mm-wavelengths to survey the Ozone layer and environmental pollution.
• Training of people going to all kinds of positions in daily life.