eli5: NASA mostly uses UHF antennas for interspace communication, why?
In: Physics
Low frequency radio waves are like a shotgun, they spread out and stick to the ground, AM radio is a good use, you want to hit as much targets as possible but it’s low and slow. UHF signals are like a sniper rifle you only want to hit 1 target but it’s further away. Higher frequencies provide more directional control but are more concentrated.
Airplanes use an in-between frequency: VHF it gives a strong-ish signal over a reasonable range
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