Whats the difference between Sound Waves and Radio Waves?
Sound waves are planar waves of high and low pressure propagating outward from a source through a medium like air, water, basalt rock, or whatever. Electromagnetic waves differ in that they can travel in a vacuum and are composed of electric and magnetic fields, and they travel at the speed of light (a million times faster than the speed of sound through air). Radio stations use radio waves to carry audible information. The audio modulation on the radio “carrier” can be transformed back into a sound using a radio receiver and a speaker. While everyday experience and Hollywood movies make people think of sounds when they see the words “radio telescope,” radio telescopes do not actually detect sound waves.
