Radio waves are radiated by electric charges undergoing acceleration.

[4][5] They are generated artificially by time

varying electric currents, consisting of electrons flowing back and forth in a metal conductor called an antenna,[6][7] thus
accelerating. In transmission, a transmitter generates an alternating current of radio frequency which is applied to an
antenna. The antenna radiates the power in the current as radio waves. When the waves strike the antenna of a radio
receiver, they push the electrons in the metal back and forth, inducing a tiny alternating current. The radio receiver
connected to the receiving antenna detects this oscillating current and amplifies it.
As they travel farther from the transmitting antenna, radio waves spread out so their signal strength (intensity in watts
per square meter) decreases, so radio transmissions can only be received within a limited range of the transmitter,
the distance depending on the transmitter power, antenna radiation pattern, receiver sensitivity, noise level, and
presence of obstructions between transmitter and receiver. An omnidirectional antenna transmits or receives radio
waves in all directions, while a directional antenna or high gain antenna transmits radio waves in a beam in a
particular direction, or receives waves from only one direction.
Radio waves travel through a vacuum at the speed of light, and in air at very close to the speed of light, so
the wavelength of a radio wave, the distance in meters between adjacent crests of the wave, is inversely proportional
to its frequency.
The other types of electromagnetic waves besides radio waves; infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-rays and gamma
rays, are also able to carry information and be used for communication. The wide use of radio waves for
telecommunication is mainly due to their desirable propagation properties stemming from their large wavelength.
[7]
 Radio waves have the ability to pass through the atmosphere, foliage, and most building materials, and
by diffraction can bend around obstructions, and unlike other electromagnetic waves they tend to be scattered rather
than absorbed by objects larger than their wavelength.

Radio communication[edit]

Radio communication. Information such as sound is converted by a transducer such as a microphone to an electrical signal, which

modulates a radio wave produced by the transmitter. A receiver intercepts the radio wave and extracts the information-bearing modulation

signal, which is converted back to a human usable form with another transducer such as a loudspeaker.

Comparison of AM and FM modulated radio waves

In radio communication systems, information is carried across space using radio waves. At the sending end, the
information to be sent is converted by some type of transducer to a time-varying electrical signal called the
modulation signal.[7][8] The modulation signal may be an audio signal representing sound from a microphone, a video
signal representing moving images from a video camera, or a digital signal consisting of a sequence
of bits representing binary data from a computer. The modulation signal is applied to a radio transmitter. In the
transmitter, an electronic oscillator generates an alternating current oscillating at a radio frequency, called the carrier
wave because it serves to "carry" the information through the air. The information signal is used to modulate the
carrier, varying some aspect of the carrier wave, impressing the information on the carrier. Different radio systems
use different modulation methods:

 AM (amplitude modulation) – in an AM transmitter, the amplitude (strength) of the radio carrier wave is

varied by the modulation signal.
 FM (frequency modulation) – in an FM transmitter, the frequency of the radio carrier wave is varied by the
modulation signal.
 FSK (frequency shift keying) – used in wireless digital devices to transmit digital signals, the frequency of the
carrier wave is shifted periodically between two frequencies that represent the two binary digits, 0 and 1, to
transmit a sequence of bits.
 OFDM (orthogonal frequency division multiplexing) – a family of complicated digital modulation methods
very widely used in high bandwidth systems such as WiFi networks, cellphones, digital television broadcasting,
and digital audio broadcasting (DAB) to transmit digital data using a minimum of radio spectrum bandwidth. It
has higher spectral efficiency and more resistance to fading than AM or FM. In OFDM, multiple radio carrier
waves closely spaced in frequency are transmitted within the radio channel, with each carrier modulated with
bits from the incoming bitstream so multiple bits are being sent simultaneously, in parallel. At the receiver, the
carriers are demodulated and the bits are combined in the proper order into one bitstream.
Many other types of modulation are also used. In some types, a carrier wave is not transmitted but just one or both
modulation sidebands. The modulated carrier is amplified in the transmitter and applied to a
transmitting antenna which radiates the energy as radio waves. The radio waves carry the information to the receiver
location.
At the receiver, the radio wave induces a tiny oscillating voltage in the receiving antenna which is a weaker replica of
the current in the transmitting antenna.[7][8] This voltage is applied to the radio receiver, which amplifies the weak radio
signal so it is stronger, then demodulates it, extracting the original modulation signal from the modulated carrier wave.
The modulation signal is converted by a transducer back to a human-usable form: an audio signal is converted
to sound waves by a loudspeaker or earphones, a video signal is converted to images by a display, while a digital
signal is applied to a computer or microprocessor, which interacts with human users.
The radio waves from many transmitters pass through the air simultaneously without interfering with each other
because each transmitter's radio waves oscillate at a different rate, in other words, each transmitter has a
different frequency, measured in kilohertz (kHz), megahertz (MHz) or gigahertz (GHz). The receiving antenna
typically picks up the radio signals of many transmitters. The receiver uses tuned circuits to select the radio signal
desired out of all the signals picked up by the antenna and reject the others. A tuned circuit (also called resonant
circuit or tank circuit) acts like a resonator, similarly to a tuning fork.[8] It has a natural resonant frequency at which it
oscillates. The resonant frequency of the receiver's tuned circuit is adjusted by the user to the frequency of the
desired radio station; this is called "tuning". The oscillating radio signal from the desired station causes the tuned
circuit to resonate, oscillate in sympathy, and it passes the signal on to the rest of the receiver. Radio signals at other
frequencies are blocked by the tuned circuit and not passed on.