"W7TI" wrote in message
...
On 28 Oct 2003 16:18:17 -0800, (jj) wrote:
Does anyone have a good description for what a radio
wave really is?
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The short answer is "no". Many people confuse the measurement of things
with having an understanding of them.
Scientists are very good at measuring things; less good at understanding
what they measure. For example, gravity is measurable down to a gnat's
eyelash, but nobody knows what it really "is".
--
Bill, W7TI
It would be more accurate to say that we can measure gravity's effect, not
that we can measure gravity itself. Same for an electromagnetic field. We
have great models for predicting the effects; some models are so good we
call them Laws.
Beyond that, before you know exactly what a field is, do you really know
what ANYTHING really is? How about a copper wire? What really is copper?
Will you find the answer if you can look smaller & smaller? Will you
eventually disturb the observation just by observing? How do we know
anything?
Questions like this are best treated with beer.
Ed
wb6wsn