- #1
CrimpJiggler
- 149
- 1
If I'm not mistaken, an antenna transmits radio waves when electrical current runs up and down the antenna. The frequency at which these electrons travel up and down the antenna, in other words the frequency at which they oscillate is proportional to the frequency of electromagnetic waves transmitted by the antenna. Is that correct? If so, how do antennas receive EM waves then. I saw a table listing the effects that the different frequencies of EM radiation has on matter (i.e. UV and visible causes the valence electrons to jump, infrared causes bond vibrations, microwaves cause molecular rotations etc.) and for radio waves it stated that they cause free or mobile electrons to oscillate. So when radio waves hit an antenna, do they cause the electrons to move up and down the antenna? What about microwaves then, when microwaves hit a cell phone antenna, obviously the metal atoms won't vibrate because they have no dipole moment so I'm guessing the microwaves cause the free/mobile electrons to oscillate in the same wave radio waves do. Is everything i said there correct?