A presentation about the uses of radio waves in every day life.

1. The Uses of Radio
Waves in the Media.
By Ashling Adams
Sunday, 29 January 2012

2. How do Radio Waves Work?
• Radio waves are basically frequencies that travel at the speed of light and deliver information to transmitters and
receivers.
• Radio Waves have been around since the dawn of time and are caused by a disturbance in atmosphere, such as
lightening.
• Radio waves can easily suffer from interference due to natural causes, such as stars and gases that emit radio waves.
• Radio Waves have the longest wavelengths n the electromagnetic spectrum. They can travel from centimetres to
thousands of miles.
• They can range from the frequency 3Khz to 300Ghz.
• Radio waves can travel through many different ways, such as being bounced between earth and the ionosphere or
being reflected.
• Radio waves are mostly used for communication purposes, however they do perform a number of different jobs in the
world.
Sunday, 29 January 2012

3. Why are Radio Waves
Important?
• Radio waves were first discovered in the 1800’s, and were thought to be an amazing discovery, as
people could communicate with each other from far distances. However, as time went on, people
started to take radio waves for granted, and now, hardly anyone realises how much we actually use
radio waves as part of our every day lives. The biggest use for radio waves are communication, such as
phones, texts, emails and instant messaging. However, surprisingly, there are many other uses for
radio waves, that we use every day. Such as-
• Television
• Wireless networks
• Mobile phones
• GPS systems
• Garage Door openers
• Wireless clocks
• Police radios
• Radio controlled toys
Sunday, 29 January 2012

4. Uses of Radio Waves.
Mobile Phones-
Mobile phones first originated from Alexander Bell’s invention of the telephone in 1875. Over the
years, people found a way to make the telephone wireless, making it like a sophisticated version of
the radio.
When using a mobile phone, radio waves are used to transmit your voice to a base station tower, by
the use of turning the signal into a code, which then transmits the information to the persons
phone who you are talking to. Each base station can receive signals from most phones in the area,
from as little as 30 kilometres away to, 500 kilometres away. Although, as you travel, interference
can happen as the signals change from base station to base station which may cause loss of contact
or a buzzing noise.
This makes it possible for you to communicate from thousands of miles away to people, without
radio waves, this would not be possible.
The radio waves that are transmitted from mobile phones are much smaller then television and FM
waves and have the frequency range of 824.040 to 858.970 MHZ.
Sunday, 29 January 2012

5. Uses of Radio Waves.
Television-
In todays world, most people own a television, to be entertained, informed and communicative.
However, most people do not understand the use of radio waves to receive signals to the
television set to be able to watch T.V.
Televisions use many different radio signals to transmit a particular channel and then block out
the rest of the channels without interference. This means that each channel uses different
frequencies for the television to receive the information of images and sound. This works by
sending electromagnetic waves and converting pixels and audio into recognisable images and
sounds.
Television receive most of the channels by the use of antennas. The radio waves are transmitted
to the antennas by high a frequency of 470-582MHZ from T.V stations, allowing the viewer to
watch programmes without interference. The signal is the sent through a cable into the
television.
Sunday, 29 January 2012

6. Uses of Radio Waves.
WiFi-
WiFi can be used to connect to the internet which means you can learn information,
communicate to others, to play games E.C.T. This makes WiFi a big part of todays society
as it is used in every day life in a very easy, quick, handsfree way without hesitation to
how it works.
WiFi uses radio waves to transmit and receive information from one device to another,
either from mobile phones or computers. A computer’s wireless modem translates radio
signals into data to receive the information and transmits it using an antenna or cable.
WiFi’s way of receiving and transmitting radio waves is very similar to mobile phones
and radio’s way of getting and sending information. All of these devices can convert 1’s
and 0’s into radio waves and then convert radio waves into 1’s and 0’s.
WiFi is transmitted at a frequency of 5GHZ, as this is a high frequency and means that
the information can be sent quickly and without interference.
Sunday, 29 January 2012

7. Conclusion.
In conclusion, Radio waves can be used for many different uses in a quick and
effective way. Without Radio waves, the media would be a lot more sparse and
information would travel a lot slower.
As most radio waves are caused naturally, it ensures that radio waves are a
reliable source to use, since radio waves have been around since the Earth.
People may not realise it, but radio waves are in fact used in every day life
without hesitation. From remotes, walkie talkies, internet, mobile phones,
microwaves E.C.T
However, the use of radio waves for AM/FM radio and television could soon be
on the decline due to the digitalisation of radio and television, also, with the
help of online radio and television, people are using the original formats of
these devices less and less.
Sunday, 29 January 2012

8. References.
• http://computer.howstuffworks.com/wireless-network1.htm
• http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4564078_a-television-work.html
• http://www.howstuffworks.com/tv.htm
• http://www.abc.net.au/spark/scienceof/phones.htm
• http://www.howstuffworks.com/radio.htm
• http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/sci/A0860617.html
• http://www.nrao.edu/index.php/learn/radioastronomy/radiowaves
• http://www.howstuffworks.com/cell-phone-radiation.htm
Sunday, 29 January 2012