Radio was a huge invention in 1800’s! Let’s learn five rich radio facts for kids.
The invention of the radio can’t be traced back to just one person, but two different people. Heinrich Hertz is credited for discovering the first wireless radio in the late 1800’s. However, talian inventor, Guglielmo Marconi, is known as the ‘Father of Radio’ because he made practical and usable radio sets based on the Hertz discovery in 1895. In 1920, the first radio station started broadcasting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
When you hear radiation, radio waves are probably not the first thing to come to mind, however since radiation is energy that moves, radio waves fall into this category. Radio waves have a property called frequency. The frequency is the number of waves that pass a given point each second. Radio waves are sent out by a device called a transmitter. The transmitter turns talking, music, pictures, or other information into electric signals. The transmitter combines these electric signals with radio waves of a certain frequency.
The radio waves are picked up by an antenna which spreads them out in all directions. The antenna is connected to a device called a receiver. The receiver separates the electric signals from the radio waves and it then turns the electric signal back into the original sounds or pictures. A radio sends the electric signal through speakers so the sound can be heard.
Radio was first created as a way to send telegraph messages between two people without wires, however now it is used for much more. Radio is now used to broadcast music, news and entertainers to your home, work, school or car. Before tv programmes there were radio shows. These were often plays or dramas. Can you imagine listening to your favourite show on the radio without watching it? Companies that make and send radio programming are called radio stations. Radio stations can be privately owned, state owned or run by communities. Businesses often pay radio stations big money to advertise for them.
The two types of radio waves that you would be familiar with are AM and FM. These two words are often put at the end of a radio station name to allow listeners to find the frequency they are on. AM stands for Amplitude Modulated, while FM stands for Frequency Modulated. AM radio waves are between a frequency of 550 kHz and 1600 kHz. Khz is the measurement for AM frequency and it stands for kilohertz. FM radio waves are between a frequency range of 88 Mhz and 108Mhz. Mhz is the measurement for FM frequency and it stands for megahertz.
We hope you enjoyed learning more things about Radio as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic this invention is, you can move on to learn about other ones like: Plaster Cast, Defibrillator, Pneumatic Tyre, Ejector Seat, Ancient Inventions, Computer and 90’s Inventions.
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