radio waves

Cultural  

1. Waves at the end of the electromagnetic spectrum with the lowest frequency (less than 300 megahertz) and the longest wavelength (from a few feet to many miles). Because of their low frequency, radio waves carry very little energy compared to other electromagnetic waves. (See Planck's constant.)

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Radio waves can pass through the atmosphere and therefore are very useful for communication. Commercial, short-wave, and citizens' band radio are broadcast with radio waves, as is television.

Example Sentences

Instead of producing a standard image of brain structure, 1H-MRS uses magnetic fields and radio waves to measure chemical levels in tissue.

From Science Daily • May 16, 2026

The Merops autonomously seeks an incoming drone using radio waves, radar or the target’s heat signature.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 13, 2026

To build the system, the researchers used radio waves to inject magnons into a Helium-3 superfluid cooled to temperatures near absolute zero.

From Science Daily • May 5, 2026

It uses radar images from satellites, which send radio waves to Earth and measure how they bounce back, showing how far floating tank roofs have risen or fallen—and therefore how much crude is stored inside.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 3, 2026

It receives radio waves from the depths of space, focusing them onto the feed arm antenna high above the dish, which is in turn electronically connected to the control room, where the signal is analyzed.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan