Radio and Electronics Cookbook

8

Waves – Part 1

Introduction

Waves are responsible for most of the processes in life where energy is transferred from one place to another. Heat and light energy from the sun, for example, come to us as electromagnetic waves. Sound travels through the air as a wave; it is not the same sort of wave as light or heat, but it obeys many of the same properties. Damage is caused to coastal margins by the waves of the sea – again, another type of wave, but still obeying many of the same properties. Radio waves are of the same type as heat and light waves, as are gamma rays, X-rays, ultra-violet waves and infra-red waves. So, once we begin to understand what radio waves do, we are also learning about a huge chunk of physics at the same time! All these ...