What Is Radio Frequency (RF)?
Do you ever wonder what the "RF" in "radio frequency" stands for? Its "radiophonic frequency" is synonymous with "radio." But don't worry—you don't have to be a scientist to understand it! Radiofrequency (RF) refers to the rate of oscillation of electromagnetic radio waves from 3 kHz to 300 GHz and the alternating currents carrying the radio signals. It is the frequency band that is used for communications transmission and broadcasting. Although RF stands for the oscillation of waves, it is synonymous with the term "radio" or simply wireless communication. The radio frequency spectrum is a thing of beauty. It's like if you were to look at the electromagnetic spectrum as it applies to information and communications technology. Still, you would see all these different parts used for other things. Then, if you zoom in on one part of the spectrum and look at all the different ways various technologies are using it, you could find some pretty cool stuff happening. Take FM radio, for example—you've got these waves traveling through the air and being broadcast over a particular frequency band. Then, when you turn on your FM radio at home or in your car, your receiver picks up those signals and converts them into a sound you can hear through headphones or speakers (or whatever) or take TV broadcasts: there are many different channels available for free over-the-air broadcasting—and even more if you have cable! No matter what kind of television set or antenna system you can access, TV broadcasts will always be transmitted using wireless frequencies within the UHF band. Radio waves are electromagnetic radiation made up of tiny particles called photons. These photons have no mass, but they have energy and momentum. They're like small bullets that shoot out of the antenna at the speed of light (186,000 miles per second). Wait! There's more! Radio waves are also what your cell phone uses to talk to your tower—it just so happens that the phone converts them into digital data (1s and 0s) that it can understand. It's pretty cool, huh?
Related Terms by Networking Solutions
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