Electromagnetic Spectrum – The discovery and use of radio waves

By Robert M. Hazen, PhD, George Mason University

There are many common components in this electromagnetic spectrum. They are radio waves; Microwave; Infrared, or heat radiation; Then visible light; Then ultraviolet; X-ray; And gamma rays. This detail is a sequence of power increases, and also reduces wavelengths. But radio waves are one of the most important waves widely used by humans. But what are radio waves, and how do they use them?

Electromagnetic spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum is a continuum of all possible wavelengths, or equivalent electromagnetic beams. There are no natural sharp divisions in this difference. Every wavelength, every possible repetition can occur. And if we do not see the visible light and we do not see the others, there are no natural divisions except for human vision.

But from an internal perspective, these are all the same phenomena – all electromagnetic radiation, all traveling at 186,000 miles per second. Radio waves are the first form of invisible electromagnetic radiation. They illustrate the behavior of electromagnetic radiation.

This is a copy of the video series The joy of science. Watch now on Wondrium.

The discovery of Hertz radio waves

Radio waves were invented by the German physicist Henry Rudolph Hertz in a series of experiments in the late 1880s.

Hertz read James Maxwell’s papers. He was determined to see the foretold radiation. He developed a series of attempts to do so. And he was able to measure the wavelength of these invisible waves and some other characteristics.

By the way, the frequency unit is called herd. Hertz is one cycle per second, and is named after him. So when you look at your radio dial, you can see kilowatt or megahertz. Named after this great German scientist.

Learn more about electromagnetic spectrum.

Marconi and radio communication

Shortly after Herrtz’s research, the use of radio was discovered by Italian inventor Guglimo Marconi. He invented radio waves with an ancient flash device – creating only electric sparks – and created radio waves. And he used the telegraph to produce such a brief explosion.

Much of his success was in designing and improving antennas. He was the first, for example, to take an antenna, place it in a vertical structure, and have better reception characteristics. He gradually increased the transmission and reception of these radio waves from one mile to ten miles, and finally in 1896.

And these radio blasts, like Morse Code, were just a short blast. Marconi In 1908 he established the first Trantech Technical Wireless Connection, and in 1909 he won the Nobel Prize in Physics.

Radio waves are on the spectrum

Radio waves include electromagnetic radiation at wavelengths of up to several miles, electromagnetic spectrum at low power, and long wavelength. The frequency of these waves is measured in thousands or millions of cycles per second, that is, kilowatts or megahertz.

Radio waves, like all electromagnetic waves, are produced when the charged particles move back and forth and sway. The long antennas you see near many radio stations are metal structures that are moving back and forth, generating strong radio signals.

Radio waves travel through the atmosphere, making them ideal for communication. They travel through building materials. The shortwave radios, which we call FM waves, are not easily dissipated. You need the same line of sight to the radio tower, so you can’t usually find an FM radio station more than 40 or 50 miles from the source.

Variation in amplitude and frequency

But in the real world, long wavelengths, AM radio broadcasts, of course, can be far away from the atmosphere, dispersing, and therefore traveling hundreds of miles beyond the horizon.

Information is usually transmitted by radio signal in two opposite ways. You can change the wavelength where you change the intensity of the wave. But you can also use frequency tuning or FM transmission, and that is nothing more than a slight change in the wavelength. That is similar to a modified broadcast of FM or frequency.

Learn more about the nature of power.

Radio band components

Radio waves travel in many different directions and at such great distances the community must control which wavelength or which radio band to use.

That’s why we, the International Telecommunication Union, that is the United Nations; And also in the United States, the Federal Communications Commission, that FCC. They control electromagnetic real estate because each wavelength is a valuable commodity that can transmit information.

Certain radio bands, such as amateur radio operators, police, ambulances, navigation, location – the presence of that particular band – and so on.

In addition, there are certain wavelengths set as standard frequency, and they are always distributed over that frequency. And you can use your radio receivers to pick up those specific frequencies and make sure your device is working properly.

Radio astronomy

Radio astronomers use large plate-like antennas to detect radio waves from distant objects: distant, distant stars, and galaxies. These stars and galaxies have rotating particles in the clouds and many things in space emit radio waves because they accelerate the charged particles.

Those waves travel at 186,000 miles per second, sometimes carried by radio telescopes for hundreds of millions of years. You can also use radio waves as a way to determine if there is intelligent life in the universe, because if you want to communicate from one planet, one star to another, this is how you do it.

Therefore, radio waves are one of the most important forms of human technology, especially electromagnetic radiation.

Common questions about radio waves

Keep reading
History of electronic communication from radio to television
Who invented radio astronomy? History of Radio Telescope
Radio Criticism, Einstein’s Relationship Theory and the Universe