This text considers waves the great unifying concept of physics. With minimal mathematics, it emphasizes the behavior common to specific phenomena--earthquake waves studied by seismologists; waves and ripples on oceans, lakes, and ponds; waves of sound that travel through the air; mechanical waves in stretched strings and in quartz crystals that can be used to control the frequency of radio transmitters; electromagnetic waves that constitute light, and that are radiated by radio transmitters and received by radio receivers; and the waves of probability employed in quantum mechanics to predict...

There are many valuable and useful books on electrical communication (References 1-5 are some examples), but they have certain disadvantages for the beginner. The more advanced books present some things in a basic way, but they are very narrow for an introduction to communica- tion. The introductory books are broader but still narrow by our stan- dards. Further, they often pick things out of thin air rather than derive them. This book is aimed at giving the beginner a basic understanding of a wide range of topics which are essential in communication systems. These include antennas and...