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
Radio waves don’t “look” like anything because they’re not a physical thing – they’re just oscillations in the electric and magnetic fields. Anything you see what depicts radio waves like is either an artistic expression that’s not meant to be correct in any way (the first link) or a mathematical model that depicts how radio waves (and all other electromagnetic radiation) *work* but not what it looks like. There are countless ways to mathematically model electromagnetic waves or just to illustrate them, but ultimately, radio waves aren’t physical, tangible things and thus don’t “look” like anything in the first place.
Latest Answers