radio wave

American  

noun

Electricity.

1. an electromagnetic wave having a wavelength between 1 millimeter and 30,000 meters, or a frequency between 10 kilohertz and 300,000 megahertz.

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radio wave British  

noun

1. an electromagnetic wave of radio frequency

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radio wave Scientific  

1. A very low frequency electromagnetic wave (from roughly 30 kilohertz to 100 gigahertz). Radio waves are used for the transmission of radio and television signals; the microwaves used in radar and microwave ovens are also radio waves. Many celestial objects, such as pulsars, emit radio waves.

2. See more at electromagnetic spectrum

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Etymology

Origin of radio wave

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

They spin rapidly and generate intense magnetic fields, producing focused beams of radio waves that sweep across space like the beam of a lighthouse.

From Science Daily

Astronomers have, for the first time, detected radio waves coming from an unusually rare kind of exploding star.

From Science Daily

Fast radio bursts, or FRBs, are extremely powerful flashes of radio waves that last only milliseconds and come from distant galaxies.

From Science Daily

By analyzing how bright pulsars appear across different GLEAM-X frequencies, astronomers hope to learn more about how these objects produce radio waves and where they are distributed throughout the Milky Way.

From Science Daily

Scientists believe hydrogen atoms emitted very faint radio waves with a wavelength of 21 cm.

From Science Daily

Related Words

• microwave