What Is Wave Propagation?

A wave is a vibration in space and time that carries

energy. Ocean waves, for example, are able to move
large amounts of sand and rock from place to place.
They can only do that because of the large amount of
energy stored inside them.
Wave propagation is the physics term for the
movement of waves. Today we're going to discuss
the various ways that waves of different types can
move and how those are different from one another.
Wave Speed & Medium If waves move, it makes
sense that they should have a speed. If you literally
measured how fast a peak of an ocean wave got from
point A to point B, you would be measuring the
wave speed. But what decides how fast a wave
moves?
It turns out that some waves need a medium - a
material - to travel through, and others don't. The
only type of wave that doesn't is electromagnetic
waves like light, infrared, microwaves, ultraviolet
and radio waves. Since they don't have to move
through a material, that material doesn't slow them
down. They're the fastest moving waves, and they
propagate at the speed of light, which is 3 * 10^8
meters per second.

Waves that do need to travel through a medium go

more slowly. The exact wave speed depends on the
material they travel through, the presence of any

tension in the material and the temperature of the

material. If these factors change, so does the wave
speed. Denser materials, like Jello, tend to have
lower wave-speeds, because it takes longer for the
vibrations to pass from particle to particle. But often
denser materials are also more rigid. More rigid
materials, like cookies, have a higher wave-speed.
So, it's hard to predict what the wave speed will be
using density alone. Stretched out materials
(materials with a tension), like salt-water taffy, tend
to have higher wave speeds, because particles are
more spread out. Last of all, high temperatures lead
to higher wave speeds, because particles move faster
when they're heated up, causing the wave to pass
through the material, like hot fudge, more quickly.
Space Waves propagation

These waves occur within the lower 20 km of the

atmosphere, and are comprised of a direct and
reflected wave. The space waves are the radio waves
of very high frequency (i.e. between 30 MHz to 300
MHz or more). The space waves can travel through
atmosphere from transmitter antenna to receiver
antenna either directly or after reflection from
ground in the earth’s troposphere region. The radio
waves having high frequencies are basically called as
space waves. These waves have the ability to
propagate through atmosphere, from transmitter
antenna to receiver antenna. These waves can travel
directly or can travel after reflecting from earth’s
surface to the troposphere surface of earth. So, it is
also called as Tropospherical Propagation.
In the diagram of medium wave propagation, c
shows the space wave propagation. Basically the
technique of space wave propagation is used in bands
having very high frequencies. E.g. V.H.F. band,
U.H.F band etc. At such higher frequencies the other
wave propagation techniques like sky wave
propagation, ground wave propagation can’t work.
Only space wave propagation is left which can
handle frequency waves of higher frequencies. The
other name of space wave propagation is line of sight
propagation.
There are some limitations of space wave
propagation.
1. These waves are limited to the curvature of the
Earth.
2. These waves have line of sight propagation, means
their propagation is along the line of sight distance.
The line of sight distance is that exact distance at
which both the sender and receiver antenna are in
sight of each other. So, from the above line it is clear
that if we want to increase the transmission distance
then this can be done by simply extending the heights
of both the sender as well as the receiver antenna.
This type of propagation is used basically in radar
and television communication.
The frequency range for television signals is nearly
80 to 200MHz. These waves are not reflected by the
ionosphere of the earth. The property of following
the earth’s curvature is also missing in these waves.
So, for the propagation of television signal,
geostationary satellites are used. The satellites
complete the task of reflecting television signals
towards earth. If we need greater transmission then
we have to build extremely tall antennas.

The space wave

propagation is utilized in
very high frequency
(VHF) bands (between
30 MHz to 300 MHz),
ultra high frequency
(UHF) bands and
microwaves. This is
because, at such high
frequencies, the sky wave
and ground wave
propagations, both fail.
The line of sight distance is the distance between
transmitting antenna and receiving antenna at which
they can see each other, which is also called range of
communication.
Thus the range of communication can be increased
by increasing the heights of transmitting and
receiving antennas. The space wave propagation is
utilized in television communication, radar
communication etc.
Ground Waves propagation

Ground Wave propagation is a method of radio

frequency propagation that uses the area between the
surface of the earth and the ionosphere for
transmission. The ground wave can propagate a
considerable distance over the earth's surface
particularly in the low frequency and medium
frequency portion of the radio spectrum. Ground
wave radio propagation is used to provide relatively
local radio communications coverage.
For this type of propagation, the electromagnetic
waves are conducted via the boundary of ground and
atmosphere. The ground wave is the preferred
propagation type for long distance communication
using frequencies below 3 MHz (the earth behaves as
a conductor for all frequencies below 5 MHz). The
ground wave is also used for short distance
communications using frequencies between 3 and 30
MHz

Ground wave radio signal propagation is ideal for

relatively short distance propagation on these
frequencies during the daytime. Sky-wave
ionospheric propagation is not possible during the
day because of the attenuation of the signals on these
frequencies caused by the D region in the
ionosphere. In view of this, lower frequency radio
communications stations need to rely on the ground-
wave propagation to achieve their coverage.
Typically, what is referred to as a ground wave radio
signal is made up of a number of constituent waves.
If the antennas are in the line of sight then there will
be a direct wave as well as a reflected signal. As the
names suggest the direct signal is one that travels
directly between the two antennas and is not affected
by the locality. There will also be a reflected signal as
the transmission will be reflected by a number of
objects including the earth's surface and any hills, or
large buildings that may be present. In addition to
this there is a surface wave. This tends to follow the
curvature of the Earth and enables coverage beyond
the horizon. It is the sum of all these components
that is known as the ground wave. Beyond the
horizon the direct and reflected waves are blocked by
the curvature of the Earth, and the signal is purely
made up of the diffracted surface wave. It is for this
reason that surface wave is commonly called ground
wave propagation.
Contents:
 Surface wave
 Effect of frequency on ground wave propagation
 Effect of the ground
 Polarization & ground wave propagation
 External links

The radio signal spreads out from the transmitter

along the surface of the Earth. Instead of just
travelling in a straight line the radio signals tend to
follow the curvature of the Earth. This is because
currents are induced in the surface of the earth and
this action slows down the wave-front in this region,
causing the wave-front of the radio communications
signal to tilt downwards towards the Earth. With the
wave-front tilted in this direction it is able to curve
around the Earth and be received well beyond the
horizon.
When a radio wave is transmitted into layers with
different densities, refraction, or bending of the wave,
occurs. This refraction is a change in direction of a
wave due to a change in its speed of propagation.
Generally the amount of refraction that occurs in the
earth' atmosphere depends on three main factors:
1. The density of ionization of the layer,
2. The frequency of the radio wave, and
3. The angle at which the wave enters the layer.

Effect of frequency on ground wave

propagation:
As the wave front of the ground wave travels along
the Earth's surface it is attenuated. The degree of
attenuation is dependent upon a variety of factors.
Frequency of the radio signal is one of the major
determining factor as losses rise with increasing
frequency. As a result, it makes this form of
propagation impracticable above the bottom end of
the HF portion of the spectrum (3 MHz). Typically a
signal at 3.0 MHz will suffer an attenuation that may
be in the region of 20 to 60 dB more than one at 0.5
MHz dependent upon a variety of factors in the
signal path including the distance. In view of this it
can be seen why even high power HF radio
broadcast stations may only be audible for a few
miles from the transmitting site via the ground wave.

Effect of the ground:

The surface wave is also very dependent upon the
nature of the ground over which the signal travels.
Ground conductivity, terrain roughness and the
dielectric constant all affect the signal attenuation. In
addition to this the ground penetration varies,
becoming greater at lower frequencies, and this
means that it is not just the surface conductivity that
is of interest. At the higher frequencies this is not of
great importance, but at lower frequencies
penetration means that ground strata down to 100
meters may have an effect.
Despite all these variables, it is found that terrain
with good conductivity gives the best result. Thus
soil type and the moisture content are of importance.
Salty sea water is the best, and rich agricultural, or
marshy land is also good. Dry sandy terrain and city
centres are by far the worst. This means sea paths are
optimum, although even these are subject to
variations due to the roughness of the sea, resulting
on path losses being slightly dependent upon the
weather. It should also be noted that in view of the
fact that signal penetration has an effect, the water
table may have an effect dependent upon the
frequency in use.
Refraction in the Troposphere:
As the lowest region of the Earth's atmosphere, the
troposphere extends from the Earth's surface to a
height of slightly over 7 miles. Virtually all weather
phenomena occur in this region. Generally, the
troposphere is characterized by a steady decrease in
both temperature and pressure as height is increased.
However, the many changes in weather phenomena
cause variations in humidity and an uneven heating
of the Earth's surface. As a result, the air in the
troposphere is in constant motion. This motion
causes small turbulences, or eddies, to be formed, as
shown by the bouncing of aircraft entering turbulent
areas of the atmosphere. These turbulences are most
intense near the Earth's surface and gradually
diminish with height. They have a refractive quality
that permits the refracting or scattering of radio
waves with short wavelengths. This scattering
provides enhanced communications at higher
frequencies.
Sky Waves propagation

These waves head out to space but are reflected or

refracted back by the ionosphere. The height of the
ionosphere ranges from 50 to 1,000 km.
Radio waves are refracted by the ionized gas created
by solar radiation. The amount of ionization depends
on the time of day, season and the position in the 11-
year sun spot cycle. The specific radio frequency
refracted is a function of electron density and launch
angle.
A communication channel thousands of kilometers
long can be established by successive reflections at
the earth’s surface and in the upper atmosphere. This
ionospheric propagation takes place mainly in the
HF band.
The ionosphere is composed of several layers, which
vary according to the time of day. Each layer has
different propagation characteristics:
D layer – This layer occurs only during the day at
altitudes of 60 to 90 km. High absorption takes place
at frequencies up to 7 MHz
E layer – This layer occurs at altitudes of 100 to 125
km. In the summer, dense ionization clouds can
form for short periods. These clouds called sporadic
E can refract radio signals in the VHF spectrum. This
phenomenon allows amateur radio operators to
communicate over enormous distances.

F layer - This single night time layer splits into two

layers (F1 and F2) during the day. The F1 layer
forms at about 200 km and F2 at about 400 km. The
F2 layer propagates most HF short-wave
transmissions. Because radio signals can take many
paths to the receiver, multipath fading can occur. If
the signals arrive in phase, the result is a stronger
signal. If they arrive out of phase with each other,
they tend to cancel.
Deep fading, lasting from minutes to hours over a
wide frequency range, can occur when solar flares
increase the ionization in the D layer.
The useful transmission band ranges between the
LUF (lowest usable frequency) and MUF (maximum
usable frequency). Frequencies above the MUF are
refracted into space. Below the LUF, radio
frequencies suffer severe absorption. If a signal is
near either of these two extremes, it may be subject
to fading.
Meteors create ionization trails that reflect radio
waves. Although these trails exist for only a few
seconds, they have been successfully used in
communications systems spanning 1500 km.
The Aurora Borealis or Northern Lights cause
random reflection in the 3 - 5 MHz region. Aurora
causes signal flutter at 100 Hz to 2000 Hz thus
making voice transmission impossible.
The sky waves are the radiowaves of frequency
between 2 MHz to 30 MHz . These radio waves can
propagate through atmosphere and are reflected back
by the ionosphere of earth’s atmosphere.
Since these waves go from transmitter antenna to
receiver antenna while traveling through sky, hence
their propagation is known as sky wave propagation.
In Figure , the path b represents the sky wave
propagation.
The sky waves are of practical importance at
medium and high frequencies (i.e. at medium waves
and short waves) for very long distance radio
communication. The sky wave propagation is also
known as ionosphere propagation, since the sky
waves reach the receiver after reflection from the
ionosphere.
In a single reflection from the ionosphere, the radio
waves cover a distance not more than 4000 km. With
the help of sky wave propagation, a very long distance
round the globe communication is possible.
In radio communication, skywave or skip refers to
the propagation of radio waves reflected or refracted
back toward Earth from the ionosphere, an
electrically charged layer of the upper atmosphere.
Since it is not limited by the curvature of the Earth,
skywave propagation can be used to communicate
beyond the horizon, at intercontinental distances. It
is mostly used in the shortwave frequency bands.

Skywave propagation is distinct from:

 groundwave propagation, where radio waves travel
near Earth's surface without being reflected or
refracted by the atmosphere—the dominant
propagation mode at lower frequencies,
 Line-of-sight propagation, in which radio waves
travel in a straight line, the dominant mode at
higher frequencies.
As a result of skywave propagation, a signal from a
distant AM broadcasting station, a shortwave
station, or—during sporadic E propagation
conditions (principally during the summer months in
both hemispheres)—a low frequency television
station can sometimes be received as clearly as local
stations. Most long-distance shortwave (high
frequency) radio communication—between 3 and 30
MHz—is a result of skywave propagation. Since the
early 1920s amateur radio operators (or "hams"),
limited to lower transmitter power than broadcast
stations, have taken advantage of skywave for long
distance (or "DX") communication.