radio frequencyn.
/ˌreɪdɪəʊ ˈfriːkw(ə)nsi/, U.S. /ˌreɪdioʊ ˈfrikwənsi/ Electronics and Radio.
A frequency in the range of the electromagnetic spectrum suitable for telecommunication, less than that of the shortest infrared waves and generally greater than that of the highest audio frequency (i.e. between about 300 GHz and 3 kHz, corresponding to wavelengths of 1 mm and 100 km respectively).The extremes of frequency are to some degree arbitrary; as technology has advanced the low-frequency limit has tended to move to lower frequencies, and is now sometimes taken as extending down to 3 Hz (100,000 km wavelength) or to an indefinitely low frequency.The higher frequency end of the range coincides with the microwave range (cf. microwave n. 1a).
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > frequency > radio frequency
radio frequency1915
radio range1926
radio spectrum1927
radio1968
1915 Electrician 2 July 463/1 Mercury arc rectifiers can be operated at a good efficiency even at radio frequencies.
1922 A. F. Collins Radio Amateur's Handbk. 321 When continuous waves are being sent out and..modulated by a microphone transmitter the different audio frequencies set up corresponding radio frequencies.
1937 Discovery Mar. p. xxiii/1 Loud Speaker output at radio frequencies.
1964 B. V. Rollin Introd. Electronics vii. 92 For radio frequencies, germanium point contact diodes are very satisfactory.
1976 A. White Long Silence xi. 95 You can often get close enough..without them being aware of it, especially if they're listening to a radio frequency.
1990 Skin Diver Mar. 27/1 Both WWV and WWVH transmit time signals, weather and storm data continuously on radio frequencies 2.5, 5,10, and 15 mHz.
1993 Time 25 Jan. 24/2 The Federal Communications Commission has allocated a block of radio frequencies for new satellite paging services.
2004 Metro 12 Nov. (London ed.) 11/2 3G works at a higher radio frequency so more antennae are needed because the signal cannot reach as far.
Compounds
attributive. Of or relating to a radio frequency, operating at a radio frequency, employing alternating current at a radio frequency. Usually with hyphen or in form radiofrequency.
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [adjective] > of specific frequency
low frequency1873
high frequency1891
radio frequency1915
1915 Engin. Mag. 49 253/2 The usual radio frequency transformers.
1919 Wireless World May 75/1 The arc transforms..the 1,500-volt direct current power into radio frequency energy.
1922 Nature 20 May 650/2 A six-tube amplifier having three stages of radio-frequency amplification.
1946 Nature 10 Aug. 194/1 Radio-frequency heating is not an economic proposition for heating stable liquids, but may prevent serious losses of activity in heat-sensitive ones.
1957 Endeavour 16 187/1 Electronic equipment to generate the radio-frequency radiation and to measure its absorption by the sample.
1965 B.B.C. Handbk. 116 For best results on short waves, a receiver should incorporate a tuned radio-frequency amplifier preceding the frequency-changer stage.
1970 G. K. Woodgate Elem. Atomic Struct. viii. 148 Many precise measurements of gJ..have now been made by the methods of radio-frequency spectroscopy.
1988 L. Stryer Biochem. (ed. 3) xiii. 327 The resonance frequency for 31P in a 100 kilogauss (10 tesla) field is 172 megahertz,..which lies in the radiofrequency region of the spectrum.
1995 New Scientist 22 July 85/3 This is caused by the CD player picking up the radio-frequency radiation from the cordless telephone base station.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2008; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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