Demonstrates the way microwave towers and satellites relay a transmission to get it to its destination.
To try this
simulation:
Left-click on a tower to send a transmission from the red tower to that tower. Right-drag to rotate the image.
What's Going On?
Microwave signals are used to transmit telephone calls, radio messages, televisions signals, faxes and computer data. Microwaves are very short wavelength radio waves. In fact, they are just a bit shorter than the wavelengths of light waves. Microwave signals cannot curve around the earth's surface; they travel in straight lines like light beams.
In order to send a microwave signal to someone below the horizon, the signal must be relayed. This can be done in two ways. One is to use one or more relay towers that catch the signal and re-transmit it over the horizon.
The other way is very similar but uses a communication satellite instead of a relay tower attached to the earth.
There's More!
Microwave signals are used in this application because they are not reflected by the earth's ionosphere. Radio waves with longer wavelengths would never reach the satellite and long distance, high volume communication around the world would not be possible.
