why did FM become the most popular radio frequency and what difference did it have over AM?
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Imagine radio as a giant lighthouse, which is actually a fair comparison because light and radio waves are both EM waves.
In AM radio, you shine a red light and dim and brighten it. The dimming and brightening corresponds to stronger or weaker air pressure in a sound wave.
In FM radio, you shine a blue light, but it shifts a little bit green or a little bit purple. You don’t care how bright the light is, just the color.
Most noise sources, like clouds, mountains, smoke, etc will change the brightness, impacting AM, but NOT the color. So FM is more noise resistant.
When you change the radio station, you’re putting on colors glasses. In the USA, the FCC defines radio bands. So FM 101.5 is like a specific color of blue, but there’s a little bit of wiggle room in the color spectrum. Your 101.7 channel would be a slightly more purple color of blue, and the glasses are designed to block out the colors near 101.5
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