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I read just recently that radio waves travel at light speed. However, if radio is a wave of vibration, how could it travel at light speed? I am not an astronomer nor a super sluth scientist, nor will I ever claim to be, but I just wanted to get some other opinions about this.
:cheers:
Cowboy
They are part of the same family, electro magnetic waves.Quote:
Originally Posted by Cowboy
Your radio tunes into one range, your eyes another.
This may be of interest
http://hea-www.harvard.edu/~efortin/.../EMR_all.shtml
or well, maybe not!
Blows my mind really:hammer:
Rick
All electromagnetic radiation (xrays or microwaves or ultraviolet or whatever) travels at the speed of light. So that's one thing I remember from physics. (Still waiting to remember something useful from calculus!!!)
Yes, all electromagnetic radiation -- from radio waves to x-rays -- travel at the speed of light. In empty space this speed is approximately 300,000 kilometers per second! We can even predict the wavelength of an electromagnetic wave if we know the time it takes for the charge to oscillate once, returning to its original location. This time is called the "period", T, of the wave. By multiplying the period with the speed of light (c), we can determine the wavelength of any wave.
The velocity (or speed) of a radio wave radiated into free space by a transmitting antenna is equal to the speed of light - 186,000 miles per second or 300,000,000 meters per second. Because of various factors, such as barometric pressure, humidity, molecular content, etc., radio waves travel inside the Earth's atmosphere at a speed slightly less than the speed of light. Normally, in discussions of the velocity of radio waves, the velocity referred to is the speed at which radio waves travel in free space.
The frequency of a radio wave has nothing to do with its velocity. A 5-megahertz wave travels through space at the same velocity as a 10-megahertz wave. However, the velocity of radio waves is an important factor in making wavelength-to-frequency conversions..
Cowboy, you are probably thinking about sound waves! That's true for what comes out of your radio, but not what goes in it!;)