carrier waves
Radio's underlying oscillations
A carrier wave is a radio frequency signal that carries information by being modified—its amplitude, frequency, or phase altered to encode sound, images, or data.
AM and FM radio work by modulating carrier waves differently: amplitude modulation varies the wave's strength, frequency modulation varies its rate.
The carrier itself contains no information; it's the vehicle for the signal riding on it.
modulation
Varying signals to transmit
- amplitudeMaximum oscillation displacement
- wavelengthSpatial repetition interval
- hertzFrequency measurement unit
oscillation · resonance · bandwidth · megahertz · gigahertz · kilohertz · harmonic · spectrum · phase · attenuation