Beginning Radio Communications: Radio Projects and Theory

© Alex Wulff 2019

A. WulffBeginning Radio Communicationshttps://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4842-5302-1_2

2. Basic Radio Theory

Alex Wulff¹ 

(1)

Cambridge, MA, USA

 

The purpose of this chapter is to give you a basic but intuitive understanding of what radio waves are and how radio waves propagate. We will walk through basics of the electromagnetic spectrum and properties of waves as they interact with matter.

The Electromagnetic Spectrum

Figure 2-1 is a common depiction of the electromagnetic spectrum. Many know the term “electromagnetic spectrum” or “electromagnetic radiation,” but few can characterize exactly what these words signify. The electromagnetic spectrum encompasses all different types of electromagnetic radiation, all the way from the lowest-frequency ...