Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Section 3
9.4.3 The different waves have different properties which are utilised in a range of
communication systems through air and space
9.4.3.a
Identify that where information systems cannot be physically linked the information
may be transmitted in wave form through the atmosphere or space
9.4.3.b
Identify the properties of energy from the electromagnetic spectrum that make it
useful in communication technologies including its
speed of travel
ability to travel in a straight line
ability to be reflected
9.4.3.c
Describe the individual properties of visible light, radio waves (AM, FM, TV
waves) and microwaves and relate these to their use in communication systems
9.4.3.i
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9.4.3.a
Identify that where information systems cannot be physically linked the information
may be transmitted in wave form through the atmosphere or space
Communication with the rest of the world by Australians has undergone tremendous change
since the beginning of European settlement. The men and women who arrived at Sydney
Cove in 1788 were completely isolated. They could wait for years for a reply to letters from
England. Even then, news they received was at least a year old because of the time taken for
the voyage. Mail was the main method for long distance communication.
Advances in science during the 18th century resulted in a communications revolution.
Heinrich Hertz who made the first radio transmitter and demonstrated the
existence of radio waves and
Guiglielmo Marconi who discovered a way to transmit and receive radio waves.
In 1901 he proved that it was possible to send messages from England to
Canada using radio waves.
An important practical use of the wireless was for ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore
communication. Radio helped to save thousands of lives of victims of sea disasters. Many
uses of radio were soon found, particularly involving moving objects where physical contact
was difficult or impossible. By the 1930s airplane pilots, the police, and military personnel
were all using radio for quick communication.
The wireless telegraph quickly replaced wire telegraph for long distance communication. A
physical link was no longer necessary. It meant communication was now possible to remote
areas. It also meant the introduction of a new method of mass communication the radio
station. Radio communication opened the way for many communications technologies:
television, satellite communication and mobile phones.
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Although short-wave radio provided cheaper international communications and a wide range
of services, they were affected by disturbances to the ionosphere in the upper atmosphere.
On the other hand cables were unaffected by ionospheric disturbances, and offered
continuous service and could be private. In addition, radio capacity was limited but demand
for communication services was constantly increasing.
Today communication involves a mix of cable and through the air technologies. Optic fibers
are replacing copper wire. Microwaves, infrared and light are now being used in
communication systems, as well as the traditional radio waves. All are contributing to higher
quality and faster communication.
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Notes Questions
1. People live and work on places where communication by physical links (eg. wires) is not
practical or impossible. Name three such places.
2. Who discovered a way to transmit radio waves?
3. People live and work on places where communication by physical links (eg. wires) is not
practical or impossible. Name three such places. Name three locations where rapid
and /or long distance communication was made possible by radio.
4. Name one advantage and one disadvantage of radio communication
5. What was the first electromagnetic wave used in modern communication systems?
6. What property of 90 metre short wave radio waves made them very useful in long
distance communication?
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9.4.3.b
Identify the properties of energy from the electromagnetic spectrum that make it
useful in communication technologies including its
speed of travel
ability to be reflected
Electromagnetic Waves
What is an electromagnetic wave?
An electromagnetic wave consists of changing electric and magnetic fields.
They are non-mechanical waves, because they do not need a material medium
in which to travel.
[http://www.vislab.usyd.edu.au/photonics/]
[http://edweb.photonics.crc.org.au]
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These
Diagram
Amplitude
Wavelength Wavelength is the distance between the same points on consecutive waves.
Frequency
Frequency is the number of times each second that crests pass a stationary
point (ie cycles per second).
Velocity
All waves can exhibit phenomena such as reflection, refraction and diffraction.
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General Use
10. Radio waves spread out from a point source. This allows them to be broadcast. What is
the point source from which radio waves are broadcast?
11. Measure the amplitude and wavelength for the following waves
a.
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b.
12. How many full cycles are shown for each of the four waves drawn above?
9.4.3.c
Describe the individual properties of visible light, radio waves (AM, FM, TV
waves) and microwaves and relate these to their use in communication systems
Frequency Range
Wavelength Range
AM radio
3.5 2.5m
FM radio [VHF]
1.7 1.2m
64 34cm
36 31cm
Mobile phones
1 GHz - 40 GHz
30- 7.5cm
(microwaves)
4 GHz
- 8
GHz
12 GHz - 18
GHz
Communication satellites
C Band (broadcast)
Ku band (broadcast)
The generating power of the transmitter effects the range of the system
An object in the path of a wave will result in absorption, reflection, refraction or
diffraction of the wave. All of these will affect the range of the system.
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The higher the frequency the more information that can be carried by the wave.
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Notes Questions
13. Name three forms of mass communication.
14. A radio transmitter produces a signal of 1233kHz.
broadcast would it most likely be?
15. A radio transmitter produces a signal of 730MHz. At this frequency what type of broadcast
would it most likely be?
16. A radio transmitter produces a signal that has a wavelength of 34cm.
wavelength what type of broadcast would it most likely be?
17. Which broadcast band has the shortest wavelength?
FM radio that is broadcast on the VHF band or
VHF television broadcast on the VHF band
18. Which frequency can carry the most information 600kHz, 600MHz or 6GHz?
19. Name three wave phenomena that affect the range of a wave.
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With this
Description / Information
Long wavelength
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Reflection from a layer in the atmosphere, the This enables radio signals to be transmitted
ionosphere (and the ground)
to receivers which are out of sight because
of the Earths curvature. This gives AM radio
a very long range. Signals can be received
thousands of kilometres away. Therefore
reflection off the ionosphere makes them
useful in long distance communication.
The advantage of AM radio is that the circuitry required is not overly complicated.
Therefore it is cheap and readily available for a large variety of uses. As a
consequence the AM band was the first to be developed and is relatively crowded with
users.
One problem with AM radio waves is they are susceptible to interference. Atmospheric
conditions (storms, particularly electrical storms) can severely affect electrical
equipment and therefore the quality of the transmission.
The AM radio band has a large variety of uses. Originally it was very important in radio
telegraphs and shore-to ship and ship-to-ship communication. Many uses have been found
for AM radio with airplanes, police vehicles, Radio Broadcasting, two way (walkie-talkie)
communication and CB radio.
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Notes Questions
20. What is meant by the term MHz?
21. Identify the type of information carried by AM radio.
22. What useful property of waves allows AM radio waves to reach receivers that are out of
line of sight (such as behind a mountain)?
23. What property of radio waves allows them to be broadcast?
24. What layer in the atmosphere can reflect radio waves?
25. Name four uses of radio waves.
26. Why is AM radio relatively cheap?
27. What natural events can affect the quality of transmission of AM radio waves?
28. Complete the table below listing all the properties of AM radio waves and any wave
phenomena they exhibit. [Use all the information in this chapter to answer this question]
Properties of AM radio waves
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Description / Information
Because
FM
waves
have
shorter
wavelengths than AM waves they do not
diffract as well around large objects (ie bend
around objects). The diffracted wave loses
too much energy.
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VHF waves used for TV broadcasts have a frequency range of 54 MHz - 88 MHz and 174
to 254 MHz. The wavelength of VHF radio waves 5.6 metres 1.2 metres.
UHF waves used for TV broadcasts have a frequency range of 470MHz 860 MHz. The
wavelength varies from about 65 centimeters to 30 centimeters.
Channel 3 in Newcastle used to transmit at a frequency of 91.0 million cycles a second (or
91 MHz) and is therefore in the VHF range. It can be detected on a FM radio. Since
20____ it has transmitted on the UHF band at _____ MHz. Most TV stations in Australia
have moved to the UHF band.
Both VHF and UHF waves spread out from a point source (ie the aerial). This allows them
to be broadcast from transmitting aerials.
Like all electromagnetic waves VHF and UHF travel at the speed of light. This allows for
very fast communication.
Tall buildings and hills can cause major problems with TV reception of both VHF and UHF.
Diffraction of the VHF signal occurs but the diffracted signal is very weak.
Weak signals also occur because buildings and hills absorb the waves.
TV reception of the original signal and a reflected signal causes ghosting. This is a
bigger problem with VHF signals.
Problems such as these can be overcome using relay stations in country areas, or for a
large city a multiple number of Broadcast aerials.
Like all EM waves UHF radio waves travel in straight lines. Therefore UHF broadcasts
are limited to line of sight paths. Broadcast antennas are usually mounted at the top of a
high mountain to allow a maximum broadcast range [about 80 kilometers]. To ensure
good reception, aerials are mounted high up on roofs. The range is however adequate for
TV Broadcasts.
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The high frequency of VHF and UHF is the property that allows a lot of information to be
carried. TV waves must carry more information than FM waves. The total bandwidth
required to carry TV signals is about 6MHz. There needs to be separate signals sent for
each of the three colours (blue, yellow and red) as well as sound information (stereo
sound) and other information to control the picture. Obviously UHF can carry more
information than VHF because of its higher frequency, allowing higher quality
transmissions.
The short wavelength of UHF means that reflection can be a useful property.
In a
crowded urban area, with buildings close together, these reflections can cause rapid
variations in signal strength. Reception may suddenly become clear, as a particular
reflection path becomes dominant. A small change in the position of the antenna may
cause a major change in reception quality because a strong reflection can now be
detected. Such reflections are frequently useful, as they may allow communications
between two stations over a highly obstructed path. This situation is obvious to users of
mobile phones.
VHF and UHF have a number of uses. As technology has improved many communication
systems are moving to these bands. They give higher quality transmissions and are not
affected as much by atmospheric conditions (storms). VHF is used for FM radio, some TV
Broadcasts and marine radio. UHF is used for TV broadcasts, police radio and there are a
number of amateur radio bands. As well, the high end of UHF (very close to the microwave
band) is used for mobile phones.
Notes Questions
32. Which has the higher frequency VHF or UHF? Answer using examples.
33. Research
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What to do
1. Summarize the information on TV waves using a mind map.
Other use
Mobile phone
TV waves
Other use
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Microwaves
Microwaves have a frequency range of 300 to 1 thousand million cycles a second (Hz).
Microwaves travel in straight lines. Using a microwave dish they can be reflected, and
like light waves, can concentrated into beams.
The range of low powered, broadcast microwaves is quite small.
Microwaves have a small wavelength and therefore they do not diffract (bend) around
obstacles. Also, metallic objects will absorb microwaves and therefore they do not
pass through such objects.
Most large objects will interfere with transmission of
microwaves. Therefore, devices using microwaves must have line of sight between
transmitter and receiver to operate effectively.
Microwaves beams can pass easily through rain, smoke, and fog and they also
pass through the ionosphere & travel through space. Thus microwaves are well suited to
satellite, and space communications. Since microwaves travel in straight lines, a correctly
shaped satellite dish can beam a signal to a defined footprint on the earths surface.
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In addition
The very high frequency of light waves gives them huge carrying capacity
To be utilised in communications LASER light is used inside an optic fibre.
Light will not pass through opaque materials. It is readily absorbed by natural
surroundings. For this reason it is not a good free-to-air broadcast medium.
With these properties light is useful in carrying the large volumes of data in telephone
systems and TV systems (cable TV).
Notes Questions
45. Which has the higher frequency infrared or visible light? Answer using examples.
46. What material is used to make an optic fibre?
47. What is the function of an optic fibre?
48. How fast does light travel in air?
49. How fast does light travel in an optic fibre?
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50. What properties of waves keep the light inside the fibre?
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9.4.3.i
What to do
Equipment
The equipment needed to make measured
comparisons between AM & FM radio
waves are expensive and require
expertise.
Therefore,
qualitative
comparisons should be made.
Method [VGMANS]
a. Independent variable is the type of
signal
b. The dependent variable is sound
quality and volume.
c. To compare AM and FM a number of
variables will need to be controlled.
Power of transmitter
Distance to transmitter
Quality of radio receiver How?
Places to compare include effect of
obstacles buildings, hills, and other
effects - powerlines, aircraft, moving
receiver (car), underground (car park)
d. Two Groups are compared AM, FM
e. Qualitative Measurement of sound
quality and volume.
f. The
activity
investigation.
is
1. Write a heading
2. Copy the problem into your book
3. Discuss a possible method to perform a
first hand investigation of the problem.
The questions below might help.
a. Which radio stations would be the best to
compare?
Is there a radio station that transmits both
AM & FM in your area?
Where are the transmission aerials?
b. It might be useful to listen to some
stations before the method is written.
c. Make a draft list of instructions needed to
set up this experiment. Discuss your
ideas.
4. Write a possible method. It should be
proof read by at least one other person.
5. Perform the investigation.
6. Record the results by describing how the
quality of the music and voice on AM and
FM compared.
7. Write a conclusion.
8. Complete the discussion questions
practical
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Marks
23
12
Discussion questions
Syllabus Outcome H11 -11.2 a,b,c,d, -11.3 a,b; H12 -12.2 b;
1. The dependent variable in this investigation is the type of radio signal AM or FM.
Identify the independent variable?
[1 mark]
2. Name TWO variables that need to be kept constant?
[2 marks]
[1 mark]
[2 marks]
[3 marks]
[2 marks]
[2 marks]
[5 marks]
Discuss (and evaluate) questions are unstructured and require an extended answer
STEP 1
STEP 3 Develop your own answer that reflects the depth required (Verb &
marks)
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Marks
5
3-4
12
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receive the same signal at the same time. The absorption of EM waves by metals allows
them to be easily detected. This is obviously important for receiving both broadcast and
beamed transmissions. Communication into space is possible because EM waves do not
require a medium in which to travel. With the space age this it is very important for scientists
to communicate with a large variety of satellites
Communication, CB radio.
AM radio waves have a relatively low frequency (0.5 MHz - 1.6 MHz). Radio 2NC
transmits on frequency 1 233 000 cycles per second (Hertz or 1233kHz)) ie in the MHz
(106 or Megahertz) range.
AM radio waves have long wavelengths that vary from about 600 - 180 metres.
An important property of AM radio waves is they can be reflected from a layer of the
atmosphere, called the ionosphere. This enables radio signals to be transmitted to
receivers which are out of sight because of the Earths curvature. This gives short
waves a very long range. A powerful transmitter (50 000 watts) can result in a signal
being received thousands of kilometres away. Therefore reflection off the ionosphere
makes them useful in long distance communication.
Like all EM waves, AM radio waves travel in straight lines. Using directional antennas
these waves can be beamed from one location to another with a certain degree of
accuracy. Beamed wireless requires directional aerials to concentrate signals, allowing
large reductions in transmitter power. Beaming of waves that travel in straight lines
is useful in long distance communication.
A property of AM radio waves is their long wavelength. This long wavelength allows AM
radio waves to diffract (bend around objects) with a relatively small loss of energy. This
means that a mountain will not necessarily stop AM radio signals. It also means that
these signals will travel along the curved surface of the earth (they bend or diffract along
the curved surface). This long wavelength and diffraction of AM radio waves gives them
a long range and therefore they are very useful when broadcast radio waves are
needed.
AM radio waves can travel through almost any medium. Therefore, they can be used
to communicate from under water, from within buildings and deep inside mines.
AM radio waves have relatively low frequencies and therefore can only carry small
amounts of information. They carry a single audio signal and this requires only a
relatively small bandwidth. The bandwidth of such radio waves is 10 kHz. This low
frequency means AM radio waves are useful to carry voice transmissions (although
the quality of the sound broadcast is relatively poor).
The advantage of AM radio is that the circuitry required is not overly complicated.
Therefore it is cheap and readily available for a large variety of uses. As a
consequence the AM band is relatively crowded with users.
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Atmospheric
FM
FM radio waves have a relatively low frequency (88MHz - 108 MHz). Radio JJJ transmits
on a frequency of 102.1 million cycles a second (or 102.1MHz). This puts them in the VHF
radio band.
The wavelength of FM radio waves varies from about 3.5 2.5 metres.
FM radio waves travel in straight lines but they spread out from a point source.
FM radio waves do not reflect off the ionosphere. The result is that FM waves cannot
be received further than the horizon as seen from the antenna (line-of-sight). A
powerful 100000-watt FM station can broadcast up to 100 kilometres. This range
makes them suitable for a number of uses - Broadcast radio and Marine radio
frequencies.
Because FM waves have shorter wavelengths than AM waves they do not diffract as
well (ie bend around objects). Therefore, FM radio signals will bend partially around
mountains and tall buildings but these objects can significantly reduce signal strength.
They are also absorbed more readily than AM radio waves, which also affects range.
FM radio waves must carry more information than AM radio waves. The total bandwidth
required to carry FM signals is about 200kHz. The increased bandwidth is required to
transmit high quality audio signals (stereo). The property that allows this information to be
carried is the higher frequency. Therefore, FM radio waves can be used to broadcast
stereo sound. Because of this higher quality and the crowding of the AM band,
commercial radio has gradually shifted to this band.
________________________
Properties
Communication band
Use
________________________
Properties
3. Write an information report on the properties of individual EM waves and relate these to
their use in communication systems.
An information report scaffold is shown below.
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Introductory paragraph
Concluding paragraph
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