Radio 

is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves.[1][2][3] Radio waves

are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are
generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to an antenna which radiates the
waves, and received by another antenna connected to a radio receiver. Radio is very widely used in
modern technology, in radio communication, radar, radio navigation, remote control, remote sensing,
and other applications.

A variety of radio antennas on Sandia Peak near Albuquerque, New Mexico, US

In radio communication, used in radio and television broadcasting, cell phones, two-way

radios, wireless networking, and satellite communication, among numerous other uses, radio waves
are used to carry information across space from a transmitter to a receiver, by modulating the radio
signal (impressing an information signal on the radio wave by varying some aspect of the wave) in
the transmitter. In radar, used to locate and track objects like aircraft, ships, spacecraft and missiles,
a beam of radio waves emitted by a radar transmitter reflects off the target object, and the reflected
waves reveal the object's location. In radio navigation systems such as GPS and VOR, a mobile
receiver accepts radio signals from navigational radio beacons whose position is known, and by
precisely measuring the arrival time of the radio waves the receiver can calculate its position on
Earth. In wireless radio remote control devices like drones, garage door openers, and keyless entry
systems, radio signals transmitted from a controller device control the actions of a remote device.
Applications of radio waves that do not involve transmitting the waves significant distances, such
as RF heating used in industrial processes and microwave ovens, and medical uses such
as diathermy and MRI machines, are not usually called radio. The noun radio is also used to mean
a broadcast radio receiver.
The existence of radio waves was first proven by German physicist Heinrich Hertz on November 11,
1886.[4] In the mid 1890s, building on techniques physicists were using to study electromagnetic
waves, Guglielmo Marconi developed the first apparatus for long-distance radio communication,
[5]
 sending a wireless Morse Code message to a source over a kilometer away in 1895,[6] and the first
transatlantic signal on December 12, 1901.[7] The first commercial radio broadcast was transmitted
on November 2, 1920 when the live returns of the Harding-Cox presidential election were broadcast
by Westinghouse Electric and Manufacturing Company in Pittsburgh, under the call sign KDKA.[8]
 The emission of radio waves is regulated by law, coordinated by an international body called
the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), which allocates frequency bands in the radio
spectrum for different uses.

Contents

 1Technology
 2Radio communication
 3Bandwidth
o 3.1ITU frequency bands
 4Regulation
 5Applications
o 5.1Broadcasting
 5.1.1Audio: Radio broadcasting
o 5.2Two-way voice communication
o 5.3Space communication
o 5.4Jamming
 6Etymology
 7History
 8See also
 9References
 10External links

Technology[edit]
Radio waves are radiated by electric charges undergoing acceleration.[9][10] They are generated
artificially by time varying electric currents, consisting of electrons flowing back and forth in a metal
conductor called an antenna.[11][12]
Radio waves travel at the speed of light in a vacuum.[13][14]
The other types of electromagnetic waves besides radio waves, infrared, visible light, ultraviolet, X-
rays and gamma rays, can also 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.[12]

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.[12][15]
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.[12][15]
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 hertz (Hz), 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.[15]

Bandwidth[edit]

Frequency spectrum of a typical modulated AM or FM radio signal. It consists of a component C at the carrier

wave frequency  with the information (modulation) contained in two narrow bands of frequencies
called sidebands (SB) just above and below the carrier frequency.

A modulated radio wave, carrying an information signal, occupies a range of frequencies. See
diagram. The information (modulation) in a radio signal is usually concentrated in narrow frequency
bands called sidebands (SB) just above and below the carrier frequency. The width in hertz of the
frequency range that the radio signal occupies, the highest frequency minus the lowest frequency, is
called its bandwidth (BW).[16]
The radio spectrum, the total range of radio frequencies that can be used for communication in a
given area, is a limited resource.[16][3]

ITU frequency bands[edit]

The ITU arbitrarily divides the radio spectrum into 12 bands, each beginning at a wavelength which
is a power of ten (10n) metres, with corresponding frequency of 3 times a power of ten, and each
covering a decade of frequency or wavelength.[3][17] Each of these bands has a traditional name:

Band Abbreviati Frequen Wavelen Band Abbreviati Frequen Wavelen

name on cy gth name on cy gth

Extrem
100,000–
ely low 3– High 3–
ELF 10,000 k HF 100–10 m
frequen 30 Hz frequency 30 MHz
m
cy

Super
low 30 – 10,000– Very high 30 –
SLF VHF 10–1 m
frequen 300 Hz 1,000 km frequency 300 MHz
cy

Ultra
300 –
low 300 – 1,000– Ultra high 100–10 c
ULF UHF 3000 MH
frequen 3000 Hz 100 km frequency m
z
cy

Very
low 3– 100–10 k Super high 3–
VLF SHF 10–1 cm
frequen 30 kHz m frequency 30 GHz
cy

Low Extremely
30 – 30 –
frequen LF 10–1 km high EHF 10–1 mm
300 kHz 300 GHz
cy frequency

Medium 300 – Tremendou 300 –

1000–100
frequen MF 3000 kH sly high THF 3000 GH 1–0.1 mm
m
cy z frequency z

Regulation[edit]
Further information: Radio communication service
The airwaves are a resource shared by many users. Two radio transmitters in the same area that
attempt to transmit on the same frequency will interfere with each other, causing garbled reception,
so neither transmission may be received clearly.[16]
To prevent interference between different users, the emission of radio waves is strictly regulated by
national laws, coordinated by an international body, the International Telecommunication
Union (ITU), which allocates bands in the radio spectrum for different uses.[3][16]

Applications[edit]
Below are some of the most important uses of radio, organized by function.

Broadcasting[edit]
Further information: Broadcasting

AM radio station

FM radio station

Television station
Broadcasting antennas

Audio: Radio broadcasting[edit]

Main article: Radio broadcasting
 Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) debuted in some countries in 1998. It transmits audio as
a digital signal rather than an analog signal as AM and FM do.[18]
Two-way voice communication[edit]
 Cell phone – a portable wireless telephone that is connected to the telephone network by radio
signals exchanged with a local antenna at a cellular base station (cell tower).[19] The service area
covered by the provider is divided into small geographical areas called "cells", each served by a
separate base station antenna and multichannel transceiver.

 Land mobile radio system – short-range mobile or portable half-duplex radio transceivers

operating in the VHF or UHF band that can be used without a license. They are often installed in
vehicles, with the mobile units communicating with a dispatcher at a fixed base station. Special
systems with reserved frequencies are used by first responder services; police, fire, ambulance,
and emergency services, and other government services. Other systems are made for use by
commercial firms such as taxi and delivery services. VHF systems use channels in the range
30–50 MHz and 150–172 MHz. UHF systems use the 450–470 MHz band and in some areas
the 470–512 MHz range. In general, VHF systems have a longer range than UHF but require
longer antennas. AM or FM modulation is mainly used, but digital systems such as DMR are
being introduced. The radiated power is typically limited to 4 watts.[19]
Space communication[edit]

Satellite Communications Center Dubna in Russia[20]

Communications satellite belonging to Azerbaijan

 Communication satellite – an artificial satellite used as a telecommunications relay to transmit

data between widely separated points on Earth. These are used because the microwaves used
for telecommunications travel by line of sight and so cannot propagate around the curve of the
Earth. As of 1 January 2021, there were 2,224 communications satellites in Earth orbit.[21]
Jamming[edit]
Radio jamming is the deliberate radiation of radio signals designed to interfere with the reception of
other radio signals. Jamming devices are called "signal suppressors" or "interference generators" or
just jammers.[22]
US Federal law prohibits the nonmilitary operation or sale of any type of jamming devices, including
ones that interfere with GPS, cellular, Wi-Fi and police radars.[23]

Etymology[edit]
The word "radio" is derived from the Latin word "radius", meaning "spoke of a wheel, beam of light,
ray". It was first applied to communications in 1881 when at the suggestion of French
scientist Ernest Mercadier, Alexander Graham Bell adopted "radiophone" (meaning "radiated
sound") as an alternate name for his photophone optical transmission system.[24][25]
The first use of radio- in conjunction with electromagnetic radiation appears to have been by French
physicist Édouard Branly, who in 1890 developed the coherer detector, which he called in French
a radio-conducteur.[26] The radio- prefix was later used to form additional descriptive compound and
hyphenated words, especially in Europe. For example, in early 1898 the British publication The
Practical Engineer included a reference to "the radiotelegraph" and "radiotelegraphy".[27]
The use of "radio" as a standalone word dates back to at least December 30, 1904, when
instructions issued by the British Post Office for transmitting telegrams specified that "The word
'Radio'... is sent in the Service Instructions".[28]
The switch to "radio" in place of "wireless" took place slowly and unevenly in the English-speaking
world. Lee de Forest helped popularize the new word in the United States—in early 1907 he founded
the DeForest Radio Telephone Company, and his letter in the June 22, 1907 Electrical World about
the need for legal restrictions warned that "Radio chaos will certainly be the result until such
stringent regulation is enforced".[29] The United States Navy would also play a role. Although its
translation of the 1906 Berlin Convention used the terms "wireless telegraph" and "wireless
telegram", by 1912 it began to promote the use of "radio" instead. The term started to become
preferred by the general public in the 1920s with the introduction of broadcasting. (the
word broadcasting originated with the agricultural term meaning roughly "scattering seeds widely".)[30]