Uses
Microwaves can be used to cook many kinds of foods. Microwaves cause water and fat molecules to vibrate, which makes the substance hot. Mobile phones use microwaves, as they can be generated by a small antenna, which means that the phone doesn’t need to be very big. Microwaves are also used by fixed traffic speed cameras, and for radar, which is used by aircrafts, ships, and weather forecasters. Radars work by sending out bursts of microwaves, detecting the echoes coming back from the object they hit, and using the time it takes for the echoes to return to calculate how far away the object is.
Microwaves can be used to cook many kinds of foods. Microwaves cause water and fat molecules to vibrate, which makes the substance hot. Mobile phones use microwaves, as they can be generated by a small antenna, which means that the phone doesn’t need to be very big. Microwaves are also used by fixed traffic speed cameras, and for radar, which is used by aircrafts, ships, and weather forecasters. Radars work by sending out bursts of microwaves, detecting the echoes coming back from the object they hit, and using the time it takes for the echoes to return to calculate how far away the object is.
Advantages
Some advantages of microwaves are that they can easily Pass through the ionosphere, and are therefore suitable for satellite to Earth transmission. Microwaves can be modified to carry many signals at one time, including data, television pictures and voice messages. The Bandwidth of Microwaves is larger than the common low frequency radio waves. Thus more information can be transmitted using Microwaves. At Microwave Frequencies, there are better directive properties. This is due to the relation that As Frequency Increases, Wavelength decreases and as Wavelength decreases Directivity Increases and Beam width decreases. So it is easier to design and fabricate high gain antenna in Microwaves. Microwaves allows to decrease the size of antenna. In Microwaves, we have waves of much higher frequencies and hence the higher the frequency, the smaller the size of antenna. The power required to transmit a high frequency signal is lesser than the power required in transmission of low frequency signals. As Microwaves have high frequency thus requires less power.
Disadvantages
The drawback of using antenna generated microwaves in mobile phones is that, being small, they can’t put out much power, and need a constant line of sight to the transmitter. This means that mobile phone companies need to have many transmitter towers. Prolonged exposure to microwaves is known to cause “cataracts” in your eyes, which is a clouding of the lens affecting vision. Recent research indicates that microwaves from mobile phones can affect parts of your brain. Although this theory lacks definitive proof, the consensus is that prolonged phone exposure to the head should be avoided if you’re young and your brain is still growing. Other disadvantages of microwaves include: they are easily obstructed by obstacles ie. buildings, microwaves suffer from attenuation due to atmospheric conditions, and towers are expensive to build.
Some advantages of microwaves are that they can easily Pass through the ionosphere, and are therefore suitable for satellite to Earth transmission. Microwaves can be modified to carry many signals at one time, including data, television pictures and voice messages. The Bandwidth of Microwaves is larger than the common low frequency radio waves. Thus more information can be transmitted using Microwaves. At Microwave Frequencies, there are better directive properties. This is due to the relation that As Frequency Increases, Wavelength decreases and as Wavelength decreases Directivity Increases and Beam width decreases. So it is easier to design and fabricate high gain antenna in Microwaves. Microwaves allows to decrease the size of antenna. In Microwaves, we have waves of much higher frequencies and hence the higher the frequency, the smaller the size of antenna. The power required to transmit a high frequency signal is lesser than the power required in transmission of low frequency signals. As Microwaves have high frequency thus requires less power.
Disadvantages
The drawback of using antenna generated microwaves in mobile phones is that, being small, they can’t put out much power, and need a constant line of sight to the transmitter. This means that mobile phone companies need to have many transmitter towers. Prolonged exposure to microwaves is known to cause “cataracts” in your eyes, which is a clouding of the lens affecting vision. Recent research indicates that microwaves from mobile phones can affect parts of your brain. Although this theory lacks definitive proof, the consensus is that prolonged phone exposure to the head should be avoided if you’re young and your brain is still growing. Other disadvantages of microwaves include: they are easily obstructed by obstacles ie. buildings, microwaves suffer from attenuation due to atmospheric conditions, and towers are expensive to build.