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The antenna is converting the electrons in the radio waves to alternating current which then flows down the path of least resistance to ground, powering everything on the way.
Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by Grifter81
The antenna is converting the electrons in the radio waves to alternating current which then flows down the path of least resistance to ground, powering everything on the way.
Slight correction just because.
The energy in the photons is converted to an alternating flow of electrons in the antenna.
During reception of an electromagnetic wave (i.e. radio wave), the oscillating electric and magnetic fields of an incoming radio wave exert force on the electrons in the antenna elements, causing them to move back and forth, thereby creating oscillating currents in the antenna.
Originally posted by Phage
reply to post by tauristercus
During reception of an electromagnetic wave (i.e. radio wave), the oscillating electric and magnetic fields of an incoming radio wave exert force on the electrons in the antenna elements, causing them to move back and forth, thereby creating oscillating currents in the antenna.
Is electromagnetic radiation transmitted as a wave or a particle? Sort of depends on how you look at it but what happens to an electromagnetic wave when it collapses upon encountering matter?
Are you sure that a photon doesn't excite an electron of an atom of the antenna, increasing its energy level and causing it to be pushed to the next atom, and so on. Are you sure that when the electron leaves, it (or its "twin") doesn't have to move back in order to fill the "hole"?edit on 6/13/2012 by Phage because: (no reason given)
As far as I can see, as long as the radio station is transmitting, then it's transmitting a continuous and uninterrupted wave and not trillions upon trillions of individual and discrete photons.
I'm looking at a diagram of a crystal radio setup and I see that there is a tiny amount of current that can be bled off to a low power earphone to make the radio practical. I keep asking my self where the electrons that form this current come from because the electron flow is always from the antenna down thru the crystal or coil and into the ground not the other way around. It seems to me that the electrons that form the current going to the earphones have to come from the atmosphere.
You would have a complete circuit because the electrons from the ground would flow up to the antenna wire, then branch out to the earphones, then loop back to the other side of the crystal of coil and back into the ground. The frequency that is blocked by the crystal or coil provides the force that pulls electrons out of the ground and powers the load.
Years ago, I read somewhere (can't recall where) that in the early days of electrification, the big money power companies used arsen to intimidate farmers who were getting their own power from the environment without the use of fuels or motors of any kind. I could not find a description of this technique but it seems to me that it would have had to be pretty simple for farmers to set up without having to buy or make sophisticated electronic equipment and I wonder if my crystal radio variant idea is how they did it.
Originally posted by Grifter81
reply to post by Studenofhistory
Where is your electron source from ground though? The antenna is converting the electrons in the radio waves to alternating current which then flows down the path of least resistance to ground, powering everything on the way.
How are we going to get power up from the ground if it's dissipating away? If you want more power you could just move closer go the source of the radio wave and get a larger antenna to collect more from the EM wave.
All energy is always dissipating away and being collected at the same time. Once humans understand this, we have no more need for bills and fuel.
Radio waves are not photons. They are electromagnetic waves.
pho·ton (ftn)
n.
1. The quantum of electromagnetic energy, regarded as a discrete particle having zero mass, no electric charge, and an indefinitely long lifetime. See Table at subatomic particle.
2. A unit of retinal illumination, equal to the amount of light that reaches the retina through 1 square millimeter of pupil area from a surface having a brightness of 1 candela per square meter.
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pho·tonic adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition copyright ©2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
photon (ftn)
The subatomic particle that carries the electromagnetic force and is the quantum of electromagnetic radiation. The photon has a rest mass of zero, but has measurable momentum, exhibits deflection by a gravitational field, and can exert a force. It has no electric charge, has an indefinitely long lifetime, and is its own antiparticle. See Note at electromagnetic radiation. See Table at subatomic particle.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
Originally posted by samkent
I have been electrronics for 40 years with certs and licenses.
Let me set a few thing straight.
You can reverse the diode in a basic crystal radio and use the other half of the electromagnetic wave. But you would gain nothing.
Solved.