What are the Different Antenna Types?
An antenna, or aerial, is a device to send or receive signals. Antenna comes from a Latin word meaning “sail yard,” and it has two plurals: antennae and antennas. There are many antenna types and many ways of categorizing them. The two major antenna types that we first learn about and many people learn to distinguish as children are the antennae that are a body part for some animals on the one hand, as distinguished from all the antenna types that are made by people on the other hand. Many people are familiar with insect antennae, but crustaceans—including the lobster—and myriapods have them, too. For animals, antennae function as a sensory organ. Antennas made by people are often metal and have many different designs.
