I’ve seen radio waved depicted in two different ways that seem at odds with one another. the first is something like [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/3d/Wireless_tower.svg/75px-Wireless_tower.svg.png), with the waves spreading out from a point source in all directions. the second is like [this](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d1/Cross_linear_polarization.gif/330px-Cross_linear_polarization.gif) with the radio wave moving in a “tube” constrained by its own parameters.
since we can’t see them, radio waves remain a bit abstract, but both of these visualizations can’t be correct at the same time… or can they? can someone as to what the real picture would “look” like?
many thanks!
In: 3
If you throw a rock into a pond a fish under the water would see the ripples as circular waves radiating away from a point source, but an insect floating on the surface of the water would perceive the ripples as a linear wave in time. Both views are simply different perspectives of the same thing. In the second visualization the “tube” isn’t a constraint but rather signifies that it’s a local observation of the underlying EM field.
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