Radio Waves

Researchers have, for the first time, used a semiconductor laser​ to send and receive radio signals. The hybrid electronic-photonic device uses a laser to extract and transmit microwave signals, providing a data rate that may one day lead to ultra-high-speed Wi-Fi.

​China’s history-making Chang’e-4 spacecraft touched down on the far side of the Moon last week, and it opened up some exciting new avenues of scientific enquiry. Among them is an ability to tune into low-frequency radio waves in ways we never have before, so what could they tell us?

An MIT team has hooked the latest version of a radio scanning technology that can see through walls to an artificial intelligence (AI) neural network. The AI was trained to deduce a person's postures and movements even when completely hidden.

Traditional batteries are large, contain toxic chemicals, and need to be periodically replaced, meaning they're not ideal for powering medical implants. But new research from MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital has demonstrated a new way to power implanted devices using radio waves.

The world's largest radio telescope is taking shape. The Square Kilometre Array will be of a scale never seen before, and with the first prototype dish recently unveiled, the search for answers to some of the most fundamental questions about the universe and its origins is set to begin.

Someday, patients may have small tags placed on their clothing when they enter a hospital or doctor's office waiting room. By the time they actually get tended to, their vital signs will already be known. If so, it'll be thanks to research currently being conducted at Cornell University.

Have trouble sleeping? MIT researchers believe they have a better solution than attaching sleep-disrupting electrodes to you and making you spend the night in a sleep clinic: beaming you with radio waves in your own home.