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The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from radio waves to gamma rays and includes visible light. It is divided into bands based on wavelength and frequency. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths from kilometers to millimeters. Different bands of the radio spectrum are used for applications like radio broadcasting, mobile phones, wireless networks, GPS, and more. Higher frequency bands above radio waves, such as microwaves, are used for satellite communications, radar, and WiFi.

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12 views

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The electromagnetic spectrum ranges from radio waves to gamma rays and includes visible light. It is divided into bands based on wavelength and frequency. Radio waves have the longest wavelengths from kilometers to millimeters. Different bands of the radio spectrum are used for applications like radio broadcasting, mobile phones, wireless networks, GPS, and more. Higher frequency bands above radio waves, such as microwaves, are used for satellite communications, radar, and WiFi.

Uploaded by

Kelvin Mwiti
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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1.6.

2 The Electromagnetic Spectrum

The electromagnetic spectrum is shown in Figure 1.10

Figure 1.10 The electromagnetic Spectrum

1.6.3 Radio waves

These are form of electromagnetic waves of much larger wavelength. They extend from 30KHz
to more than 30GHz which correspond to wavelength of 100km to 1mm.The radio waves and
their applications are discussed below;

The most important waves as far as communication is concerned are the radio waves ,visible
light and the infra red .The radio waves are discussed below;

VLF- ( 9 kHz to 30 kHz)- Very low frequency (VLF) signals travel through water, that makes
the LF bands suited to communication with submerged submarines. Since their bandwidth is so
small,(cannot transmit video and audio) they use very slow speed data such as Morse code.
Low Frequency (LF) (30- to 300-kHz range
The LF band is used for broadcasting since it does not suffer from a large degree of loss and so
one or two radio stations can cover a country. A frequency of 87 kHz is used for communication
with cavers (people who explore caves or miners) to a depth of typically 100 m. They are also
used in aeronautical and marine navigation.

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Medium Frequency (0.3- to 3.0-MHz)
It is used in AM radio broadcasting (535 to 1605 kHz). And various marine and amateur radio
communication
High Frequency(3- to 30-MHz)
Used for broadcasting in the shortwave band(5Mhz to 26MHz) over very large distances
(several 100 km) to other countries. Government and military services use these frequencies for
two-way communication.
Very High Frequencies. (30- to 300-MHz) . is mobile radio, marine and aeronautical
communication, FM radio broadcasting (88 to 108 MHz), and analogue television channels 2
through 13.Digital audio broadcasting (DAB) is broadcast in the region of 225 MHz.
Ultra high Frequencies. 300- to3000-MHz .
Mobile phone systems, use this band and there are several frequencies allocated for this: 850,
900, 1800, 1900 and 2100 MHz. UHF signals are very localized with some being absorbed very
easily. An example of this is microwave ovens. These operate at a frequency of 2.45 GHz and
food is heated by the absorption of the microwave energy. Wi-Fi operates in this range at 2.4
and 5 GHz. The global positioning system (GPS) uses frequencies of 1227.60 and
1575.42 MHz. Blue tooth operates in this region (2.4GHz).Digital audio broadcasting (1.452GHz
to 1.492GHz),radar (8.8GHz-9.3GHz) Digital Television(digital terrestrial broadcasting Band IV
and Band V channel -48MHz,aeronautical Navigation(1559-1610MHz).radars (8.85-9GHz)

Super High Frequency SHFs. (3 GHz to 30GHz) .Such frequencies are called are called
microwaves. Microwave ovens usually operate at 2.45 GHz. These microwave frequencies are
widely used for satellite communication and radar, Wireless local-area networks (LANs) and
many cellular telephone systems also occupy this region.
Transmission in this band is by line of sight which is put to very good use by direct broadcast by
satellite (DBS). In this system, satellites are placed in geostationary orbit so that they appear at a
fixed point above the equator. For broadcast purposes, a parabolic reflector transmitting dish
points to the area to be broadcast to. The uplink frequency is approximately 10 GHz and the
downlink frequency is approximately 12 GHz
Extremely high frequencies (EHFs) extend from 30 to 300 GHz. Electromagnetic signals with
frequencies higher than 30 GHz are referred to as millimeter waves. Equipment used to generate

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and receive signals in this range is extremely /complex and expensive, but there is growing use
of this range for satellite communication telephony, computer data, short-haul cellular networks,
and some specialized radar. This band is currently not used for communications. Instead, it is
used for security imaging. The skin is not transparent at such frequencies but clothing is. So,
illumination with terahertz (THz) signals will reveal items concealed beneath clothing
Far Infra-Red (FIR ), Mid Infra-Red (MIR ), Near Infra-Red (NIR )
These bands correspond to light of which visible light is a part. Visible light covers
the range 390–700 nm or frequencies 430–770 THz. Our eyes are equipped to
receive information in this range. However, if we are talking of communication as
we understand radio communication, we can’t decode the signals because our eye
does not respond fast enough. It is possible to use photodetectors as the receiver and
this gives a much faster response. Optical fibre communication uses wavelengths of850 nm to
1.625 μm.

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