Radio propagation is the movement of electromagnetic waves, affected by atmospheric conditions. Waves are used for navigation and communication, and behave differently at different frequencies and in different parts of the atmosphere. Interference is possible, so major communication systems have moved to satellites.
Radio propagation is how electromagnetic waves, when in the form of radio frequencies, act when transmitted. This may include how they move when transmitted to the ground or into different levels of the atmosphere. Radio propagation can be affected by many different atmospheric conditions, so predicting how radio waves move can be useful in a variety of practical ways.
Electromagnetic waves are used in many ways, both natural and artificial. They occur in nature as a result of certain events, such as lightning, and are the result of signals from objects in space, such as a quasar. These waves are often created artificially to serve as a method for navigation and communications, although they are certainly not limited to that and are used in countless other ways.
Radio propagation prediction is a complex task. In addition to being subject to similar influences such as the refraction and absorption of light, radio waves also behave differently at different frequencies and in different parts of the atmosphere and troposphere. It’s easiest to predict in free space, which is space where there’s no problem interfering with the waves.
How radio propagation occurs is directly related to frequency and wavelength. For a very low frequency, longer wavelength wave, radio propagation would occur as an interaction with the earth’s surface. The signal would hug the surface of the earth and move with its curvature. This type of signal could be used in a submarine or ship.
If a wave had an extremely high frequency and a shorter length, radio propagation would take place as a direct signal, referred to as line-of-sight propagation. This occurs between two objects that have antennas and are visible to each other, like how a television antenna picks up a signal from a television station.
Regardless of where radio propagation occurs, there is almost always the possibility of interference. In addition to the atmosphere and troposphere and the elements they contain, there are other natural elements that can cause interference. This includes rain, lightning and even solar flares. Because of this potential for unreliability, many major communications systems, such as emergency transmitters and in-flight aircraft communications, have been moved from ground-based radio transmitters to satellites. This creates a more stable link that is less likely to interfere.
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