RADIO WAVES
What are Radio Waves?
Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. They range from the length of a football to larger than our planet. You can tune a radio to a specific wavelength—or frequency—and listen to your favorite music. The radio "receives" these electromagnetic radio waves and converts them to mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create the sound waves you can hear.
How They're Made
Radio waves are made by various types of transmitters. They are also given off by stars, sparks and lightning, which is why there is an interference with radios during a thunderstorm.
Uses
Radio waves are the lowest frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, and are used mainly for communications, such as radios in homes and cars.
Radio Telescopes
Radio telescopes look toward the heavens to view planets, comets, giant clouds of gas and dust, stars, and galaxies. By studying the radio waves originating from these sources, astronomers can learn about their composition, structure, and motion. Radio astronomy has the advantage that sunlight, clouds, and rain do not affect observations.
Dangers
Large doses of radio waves are believed to cause cancer, leukaemia and other disorders. Some people claim that the very low frequency field from overhead power cables near their homes has affected their health, although this has not been reliably proven.
Future Possibilites
Some future possibilities for radio waves are mostly in radio astronomy, which has lead us to find out information about pulsars, quasars, and radio galaxies.
Radio waves have the longest wavelengths in the electromagnetic spectrum. They range from the length of a football to larger than our planet. You can tune a radio to a specific wavelength—or frequency—and listen to your favorite music. The radio "receives" these electromagnetic radio waves and converts them to mechanical vibrations in the speaker to create the sound waves you can hear.
How They're Made
Radio waves are made by various types of transmitters. They are also given off by stars, sparks and lightning, which is why there is an interference with radios during a thunderstorm.
Uses
Radio waves are the lowest frequencies in the electromagnetic spectrum, and are used mainly for communications, such as radios in homes and cars.
Radio Telescopes
Radio telescopes look toward the heavens to view planets, comets, giant clouds of gas and dust, stars, and galaxies. By studying the radio waves originating from these sources, astronomers can learn about their composition, structure, and motion. Radio astronomy has the advantage that sunlight, clouds, and rain do not affect observations.
Dangers
Large doses of radio waves are believed to cause cancer, leukaemia and other disorders. Some people claim that the very low frequency field from overhead power cables near their homes has affected their health, although this has not been reliably proven.
Future Possibilites
Some future possibilities for radio waves are mostly in radio astronomy, which has lead us to find out information about pulsars, quasars, and radio galaxies.