Episode 1
What is a radio wave?
What we learned
A radio wave is an invisible wave that travels through the air, and even through walls.
A radio turns your voice into a wave and sends it out. Another radio catches the wave and turns it back into sound.
Radio waves are super fast. In one second, one could go around the whole Earth more than seven times!
Try this with a grown-up
Make waves
You need
- A bowl or baking dish of water
- A cork or a small plastic toy that floats
- A radio (a car radio works)
What to do
- Tap the middle of the water with one finger. Watch the rings spread out. That’s how a wave travels away from where it starts.
- Float the cork and tap again. The cork bobs up and down but stays put. The wave moves, not the water!
- With a grown-up, turn on a radio and tune slowly. Each station has its own spot on the dial, called its frequency. How many can you find?